Companies entitled to refunds for tariffs struck down by Supreme Court, US federal judge rules

WASHINGTON: Companies in the United States that paid tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court in February are legally entitled to refunds, a federal judge has ruled, marking another setback for the tariff policy introduced by US President Donald Trump.

According to a news report by CBS News, Judge Richard Eaton of the US Court of International Trade in New York ruled on Wednesday (local time) that US importers were “entitled to benefit” from the Supreme Court’s February 20 decision, which held that President Trump lacked the authority to impose sweeping tariffs last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Eaton was ruling on a case brought by Atmus Filtration, a Nashville, Tennessee-based company that manufactures filters and other filtration products. The company had claimed that it was entitled to a refund for the tariffs it had paid.

The ruling follows another legal setback earlier this week. On Monday, a federal appeals court declined to delay the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision that struck down most of the Trump administration’s tariffs. The appeals court’s move clears the way for the Court of International Trade to begin the process of refunding tariffs to businesses.

Quotes coming in from Court of International Trade hearing today on Trump tariff refunds. Judge Richard Eaton rejects notion process will be a mess: pic.twitter.com/aOlfGXvohd

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) March 5, 2026

Eaton also wrote in his decision that he alone “will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA” tariffs. The Supreme Court, however, did not address the issue of refunds in its 6-3 decision last month. CBS News also noted that the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Eaton’s ruling.

Trade experts estimate that the US government could owe as much as USD 175 billion to businesses that paid IEEPA levies. Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows that through the end of 2025, the federal government had collected USD 134 billion in duties under IEEPA.

Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former US trade official, tild CBS he expects the government to appeal or “seek a stay to buy more time for U.S. Customs to comply.”

“The U.S. Customs agency must now develop a way to process the refunds. The agency routinely refunds tariffs in cases of error, but its system was ‘not designed for a mass refund,'” said trade lawyer Alexis Early, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. “The devil will be in the details of the administrative process.”

Meanwhile, a coalition of small businesses that has been demanding tariff refunds welcomed the ruling. “This is a victory for small businesses who have paid billions in unlawful tariffs and deserve their money back,” Dan Anthony, executive director of We Pay the Tariffs, said in a statement. “The court acted swiftly and correctly. Now the ball is in the government’s court, and small businesses are concerned they will drag this out further.”

Several major corporations, including Bausch & Lomb, Dyson, FedEx and L’Oreal, have also sued the federal government seeking refunds of the IEEPA tariffs. (ANI)