US Judge to Meet Parties on Trump-Tariff Refunds in Closed-Door Settlement

The process to refund up to $175 billion in illegally collected tariffs will be discussed in a private meeting.

Published on Mar. 6, 2026

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A U.S. judge will meet behind closed doors with government lawyers on Friday to discuss a process for refunding up to $175 billion in illegally collected tariffs imposed during the Trump administration. The meeting, described as a 'settlement conference,' will involve lawyers representing the customs agency responsible for reimbursing over 300,000 importers that paid the tariffs, which were struck down as unconstitutional last month.

Why it matters

The refund process is unprecedented in scope, requiring the manual review of tens of millions of tariff payments. The closed-door meeting aims to establish a streamlined approach that avoids a chaotic and costly process for the vast majority of small business importers affected.

The details

Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade will lead the meeting with government lawyers to discuss how to efficiently refund the illegally collected tariffs. The case that prompted the meeting was brought by a single importer, Atmus Filtration Inc, which paid $11 million in illegal tariffs. Eaton has already issued an order directing the Customs and Border Protection agency to begin refunding the tariffs to potentially hundreds of thousands of importers using the agency's existing internal process.

  • The closed-door meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 6, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. ET.
  • Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broad swath of Trump's tariffs as unconstitutional.

The players

Judge Richard Eaton

A judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade who is overseeing the process to refund the illegally collected tariffs.

Atmus Filtration Inc

An importer that paid $11 million in illegal tariffs and brought the case that prompted the closed-door meeting.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The government agency responsible for reimbursing over 300,000 importers that paid the tariffs.

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What they’re saying

“I don't believe that any of this has to be chaotic with respect to anybody, because I know that you're going to try to come up with a way of doing it.”

— Judge Richard Eaton

What’s next

The judge expects the Customs and Border Protection agency to present initial ideas at the Friday meeting on how to efficiently process the refunds for the vast majority of importers without the need for them to sue individually.

The takeaway

The closed-door meeting aims to establish a streamlined process for refunding up to $175 billion in illegally collected tariffs, avoiding a chaotic and costly experience for the hundreds of thousands of small businesses that paid the unconstitutional tariffs imposed during the Trump administration.