Anyway, back on the subject of tariffs, Congressional Democrats are asking companies to pass along expected tariff refunds to American customers, but the wait for money “could” drag out as the Trump administration is indicating it wants to delay or entirely block the “complex and time-consuming” process.
Some companies have already pledged to pass along any refunds. Shipping company FedEx
released a statement last month saying, “Our intent is straightforward: if refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges.”
Other companies that have
promised to pass along any refunds including game maker Cards Against Humanity and sex toy company Dame Products.
There’s a Tariff Dildo of consequences joke in here somewhere…
A group of small businesses sued the Trump administration, claiming its use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose global reciprocal tariffs was an overstep of presidential powers. A divided
Supreme Court agreed in a decision released last month but it sent the question of refunds back to the lower court to decide.
The Court of International Trade has now quickly ordered the refunds after a hearing in Manhattan on Wednesday. “
You have to do it now,” Judge Richard Eaton
told a government lawyer.
Judge Eaton denied a Justice Department request to pause his order to give the administration time to fight it. “There are no merits,” Judge Eaton told the government of its case. An appeals court could still agree to give the pause while the government tries to lay out its case.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal a court order to start issuing refunds.
apple.news
Judge Eaton scheduled a Friday hearing to deal with the status of the suits that have been filed and duties involving companies that have not filed suit. “
We don’t want people who are due a refund to have to file suit,” the judge added. “
We want to work out a method by which those importers can make a claim for duties that were unlawfully applied.”
It has been two weeks since
the Supreme Court blocked Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, but an
estimated 300,000 US businesses still have no idea if or when they will receive refunds.
Economists have estimated that more than $175 billion was unlawfully collected, and the US could end up owing substantially more than that the longer the refund process is dragged out, since the US must pay back daily interest on the funds.
According to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, a conservative estimate showed that “$700 million in interest is added to the final bill every month that the government delays tariff refunds, or around $23 million per day.”
Trade groups urge court to create a simple blueprint for tariff refunds.
arstechnica.com
More than 2,000 companies, including well-known names like Costco (
COST) and FedEx (
FDX), have filed lawsuits seeking refunds for the illegal tariffs they paid. On Friday, the US Customs agency said it is
preparing a process for importers to electronically file and receive tariff refunds, and that the system will be ready in the next 45 days.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection told a Court of International Trade judge on Friday that it is not currently able to comply with his order to begin refund...
www.youtube.com
(YouTube & Trump tariffs: Customs and Border Protection tells judge it can't comply with refund order)
While the refund process gets ironed out, President Trump has moved forward with imposing new 10% tariffs that could rise to 15% as soon as "sometime this week," according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. However, a group of states is seeking to
challenge these duties in court, arguing that Trump lacks the power to reinstate tariffs under Section 122.
Two dozen states say President Trump is exceeding his authority with new global tariffs.
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(YouTube & 24 states file lawsuit against Trump administration over tariffs)
