Customs and Border Protection cannot comply with the order

US Customs and Border Protection told the Court of International Trade on Friday that it cannot currently comply with President Donald Trump’s order to begin rolling back tariffs imposed last year, which the Supreme Court recently ruled illegal.

In the same court filing CBP told Judge Richard Eaton that the total amount of IEEPA duties collected by the agency as of Wednesday and the estimated duty deposits associated with such duties is “approximately $166 billion.”

The filing comes as Eaton prepares to hold a hearing on the refund issue at the Court of International Trade in New York City. Eaton has been appointed as the sole CIT judge to hear cases from importers seeking refunds on Trump’s tariffs.

As of Wednesday, more than 330,000 importers had earned a total of more than $53 million, said Brandon Lord, executive director of the Directorate of Trade Programs in CBP’s Office of Trade.
Entries “he has deposited or paid the duties imposed in accordance with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.”

Eaton on Wednesday ordered CPB to calculate the cost of bringing the shipments into the United States without assessing the tariffs, and told the agency to reimburse importers who paid IEEPA tariffs, with interest.

Customs knows how to do this, Eaton said during a court hearing Wednesday. “They do it every day. They cancel entries and refund.”

Many importers have sued the Trump administration seeking refunds of tariffs they paid since last year, which were deemed illegal.

Eaton’s order on refund was granted in a lawsuit filed by Atmus Filtration, one of the importers, but it applies to every duty paid in connection with IEEPA duties.

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