The US government originally promised to quickly pay back the $166 billion in punitive tariffs collected illegally. But now the president doesn’t seem to be in a hurry anymore.
Jun 05, 2026, 06:52Jun 05, 2026, 06:52
The dispute over the reimbursement of Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs, which the Supreme Court described as illegal in February, is escalating: The Justice Department is resisting a federal judge’s order to reimburse importers for all tariffs. The Trump government is thus angering the responsible federal judge. Richard Eaton, who has dealt with complex trade issues at the Court of International Trade for a quarter of a century, accuses the Justice Department of ignoring his clearly stated instructions. In a recent letter he wrote: “It’s about $166 billion.”
American President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday.Image: keystone
This is the amount collected by the border protection agency CBP from the beginning of April 2025 to February 20, 2026 after Trump imposed his “Liberation Day” tariffs. Importers of Swiss goods have now had to pay additional taxes of up to 39 percent of the value of the goods to the state treasury. According to its own information, the government has already paid back around $21 billion of the $166 billion. Further refunds totaling $64 billion are currently being checked for validity.
Is there a threat of a new wave of lawsuits?
When the Supreme Court overturned these tariffs three months ago, the country’s top judges refrained from issuing instructions on the refund process. This was done instead by the commercial court, which decided on March 4th: Because all punitive tariffs had been collected illegally, all punitive tariffs must also be refunded.
The Supreme Court angered the US government with its decision.Image: keystone
The Trump administration was initially flexible. CBP Chief Rodney Scott installed a new internet portal, through which importers have supposedly been able to demand their money back quite unbureaucratically since April – or at least around half of the $166 billion that flowed into the American treasury via “Liberation Day” tariffs.
This portal only accepts claims that have not yet been processed by the customs authorities and have the status “unliquidated”. Normally, and in short, tariffs can remain in this status for up to a year after the goods are imported. This enables unbureaucratic adjustments.
Older claims, on the other hand, which have been “liquidated” according to customs jargon, can generally only be challenged through legal proceedings. An automatic refund of these taxes is therefore not possible, according to a recent court filing by the Trump administration. What this means: CBP says that each importer must file a separate court action to get their money back – a huge effort for the companies affected.
The head of the customs authority is not supposed to testify in court
Judge Eaton knows this, and it bothers him. He recently criticized the fact that CBP boss Scott has not yet presented a solution for the reimbursement of these tariffs collected last year. He also complains that small businesses are allegedly being harassed by the customs authorities. “It is said that the majority of refunds processed so far have gone to large importers and not small ones,” the veteran judge wrote in a letter to the Justice Department this week.
Eaton would have liked to question CBP Chief Scott directly about both of these issues in his New York courtroom. A date for the hearing had already been set: June 9th. But then the Justice Department stepped in and said Scott wasn’t available. The principles of separation of powers would prohibit that Judge Eaton wanted to question a head of authority under oath in such a banal procedure.
Eaton was not convinced by these arguments. He stuck to his invitation for Rodney Scott – and the Justice Department challenged that decision at the next instance. An appeals court ruled in favor of the government in its first decision on Thursday.
New: A federal appeals court has for now suspended a judge’s order to compel Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott to testify about the Trump administration’s efforts to refund $166 billion in tariffs declared unlawful by the US Supreme Court earlier this year… pic.twitter.com/gOs42d65jP
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) June 4, 2026
Of course, this back and forth leads to further delays in the reimbursement of customs revenue. Maybe that’s the government’s strategy. In any case, Trump repeatedly criticizes the Supreme Court in public appearances because the February ruling is silent about the reimbursement of the excess tariffs collected. He recently complained on the online service Truth Social that a single sentence was missing from the highest court’s ruling: “Any money paid to the United States does not have to be repaid.” The American government could have saved hundreds of billions.
Of course, it would have been even easier if Trump had found a legal way to artificially make imports more expensive. But his government is having a hard time with this. Attempt number three is now underway, after the second tariff of a flat rate of 10 percent – which was imposed at high speed after the February ruling – was declared illegal. (aargauerzeitung.ch)