Companies in the U.S. that paid tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court in February are legally entitled to refunds, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York said that U.S. importers were “entitled to benefit” from the high court’s February 20 decision that President Trump lacked the authority to impose sweeping tariffs last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Eaton was ruling specifically on a case brought by Atmus Filtration, a Nashville, Tennessee, company that makes filters and other filtration products, claiming a right to a tariff refund.
Second legal defeat this week
A federal appeals court on Monday declined to delay implementation of the Supreme Court ruling striking down most of the Trump administration’s tariffs, clearing the way for the Court of International Trade to begin the process of crafting relief for businesses
Eaton also wrote in his decision that he alone “will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA” tariffs. The Supreme Court did not address the issue of refunds in its 6-3 decision last month.
Trade experts estimate that the U.S. government could owe as much as $175 billion to businesses that paid the IEEPA levies. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows that, through the end of 2025, the federal government had collected $134 billion in duties under IEEPA.
Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official, said 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.”
Lawsuits seeking refunds
A coalition of small businesses that has demanded tariff refunds cheered Eaton’s 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 sued the federal government for refunds of the IEEPA tariffs. FedEx has also pledged to refund consumers and shippers who paid the charges if the delivery company is ultimately made whole.
