NEW YORK — A Customs and Border Protection official estimated Tuesday that the federal government will pass the $100 billion mark later this month in approved refunds to importers who paid tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year.
Susan Thomas, executive assistant commissioner at CBP’s Office of Trade, gave the update during a hearing before U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Richard K. Eaton in New York.
Eaton had convened the proceeding about the status of repayments that he ordered the Trump administration to make in March, describing it Tuesday as a "settlement discussion in open court" over the refunds. He is considering whether to order Customs officials to speed and expand its process for issuing tariff refunds for all the duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, and it was unclear when he would issue his decision.
The judge had directed CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear but later allowed the agency to send another official in his stead to testify.
In his opening remarks, Eaton described the legal proceedings over the past few months, beginning with the Supreme Court’s decision in February, ruling that President Donald Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs under IEEPA.
In March, Eaton gave Customs officials 45 days to develop a method to process refunds, which the agency later launched in April.
Thomas told the court that roughly $90 billion in refunds have since been processed and approved after being entered into the system –– using what is called the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, portal. Of that, about $23 billion has been sent to the Treasury Department for disbursement.
“I think it really demonstrates that CAPE is working.” she said.
Eaton praised the progress that the Trump administration has made to date but noted that some importers remain unable to apply for repayments through the portal because CBP prioritized imports in Phase 1 for entries that are unliquidated or up to 80 days past their liquidation date. Liquidation refers to the final calculation and assessment of duties.
“The time has come to ensure that all of the duties are refunded,” Eaton told attendees in the fourth-floor courtroom Thursday.
Thomas contended that a phased approach was needed, in part to not “cripple” the agency with work, and that CBP was working to prepare a process for the subsequent categories of refunds including finalized, liquidated entries.
Phase 3, she estimated, would include about 6.9% of the total $166 billion in IEEPA tariffs collected.
Justice Department lawyer Claudia Burke called repayments of those older and more complicated import duties “the sole area of dispute.”
Prosecutors are appealing Eaton’s March ruling, arguing that it violates another Supreme Court decision that blocks district judges from issuing nationwide injunctions and contending that individual court orders are needed for CBP to refund entries for which liquidation has been finalized.
The businesses that sued over the tariffs are asking Eaton to certify a class of importers that paid the IEEPA tariffs, which would allow the judge to order that all companies receive refunds without needing separate court orders.
Eaton said Tuesday that he did not believe the decision from the nation’s top court was at odds with his March ruling and noted that he is also considering whether to schedule a hearing about whether importers of the 6.9% of entries could represent a certified legal class.