A federal judge gave the Trump administration some breathing room to process tariff refunds after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) indicated it needed 45 days to set up an automated system.
U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton had ordered immediate compliance, but he pushed back the timeline after fielding CBP officials’ concerns at a Friday hearing. The judge has now ordered a March 12 update on the progress.
CBP collected roughly $166 billion in tariffs from over 330,000 importers struck down by the Supreme Court that now must be returned, government data indicates.
“These duties must now be refunded with interest, and the clock is ticking,” Eaton wrote in his brief ruling.
“Further interest is accumulating every day, with approximately $650 million accruing per month,” he continued. “If the entries are not liquidated before the end of the year, it is further estimated that $10 billion of interest will have accrued. American taxpayers will bear this financial burden.”
