NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge questioned a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official Tuesday about the government's process for refunding billions of dollars in tariffs that importers paid before the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump illegally imposed higher duties on goods from most other countries.
Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton said he wanted to hear details that would help him decide whether to order the government to speed up and expand its system for issuing tariff refunds.
Eaton praised the online system that CBP developed to process refund claims, saying it was working well and that he believed the government wanted to return all of the import tax money it collected without constitutional authority to do so. But he said a Justice Department appeal of his order requiring the agency to refund all companies that paid tariffs, not just those that filed lawsuits, threatened to derail the process.
