Judge Orders US Customs to Process Refunds on Illegal Trump Tariffs

Ruling could result in billions in refunds to importers who paid tariffs deemed unconstitutional by Supreme Court

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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A U.S. trade court judge has ordered the government to begin paying potentially billions of dollars in refunds to importers who paid tariffs that the Supreme Court said last month were collected illegally under the Trump administration. The judge directed Customs and Border Protection to finalize the cost of bringing millions of shipments into the U.S. without assessing the tariff, resulting in refunds with interest.

Why it matters

The ruling could have major financial implications, as the U.S. government collected more than $130 billion in these illegal tariff payments that were central to Trump's trade policy. The judge wants to establish a streamlined process for the over 300,000 importers who paid the tariffs, many of whom are smaller businesses that may have difficulty navigating a complex claims process.

The details

Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered the government to finalize the cost of bringing millions of shipments into the U.S. without assessing the tariff, resulting in refunds with interest. Eaton said Customs and Border Protection should be able to program its system to issue the refunds, which are regularly done when an importer overpays on an estimated duty. The judge set a hearing for Friday to get updates on CBP's refund plans, noting he is the only judge who will hear these tariff refund cases.

  • On March 4, 2026, Judge Eaton issued the order to begin processing refunds.
  • Eaton set a hearing for Friday, March 6, 2026 to get updates on CBP's refund plans.

The players

Judge Richard Eaton

A judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade who ordered the government to begin paying refunds to importers who paid illegal tariffs under the Trump administration.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

The government agency tasked with finalizing the cost of millions of shipments brought into the U.S. without the tariff being assessed, in order to issue the refunds.

Atmus Filtration

A company that filed a lawsuit saying it paid about $11 million in the illegal tariffs, which was one of the roughly 2,000 cases brought to the trade court seeking a refund.

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What they’re saying

“Customs knows how to do this. They do it every day. They liquidate entries and make refunds.”

— Judge Richard Eaton (Court recording)

“The language in this order strongly suggests an across-the-board approach that importers are entitled to IEEPA refunds, full stop. The government may challenge the order's scope or, at minimum, ask for more time to enable U.S. Customs to undertake what will undoubtedly be a monumental task here.”

— Ryan Majerus, Former senior Commerce official, partner at King & Spalding (Reuters)

What’s next

The judge set a hearing for Friday, March 6, 2026 to get updates on Customs and Border Protection's plans for processing the refunds.

The takeaway

This ruling could provide much-needed financial relief for thousands of importers, many of them small businesses, who were unfairly impacted by the Trump administration's illegal tariffs. However, the scale of the task facing Customs and Border Protection in finalizing millions of entries and issuing refunds will be a significant challenge that the government may seek more time to address.