A slew of lawsuits seeking refunds from tariffs are returning to the U.S. Court of International Trade due to a federal appeals court’s Monday ruling.
The decision, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, comes after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. In its three-page ruling, the appeals court denied the Trump administration’s request for a 90-day pause before the matter of tariff refunds would be sent back to the trade court. The court filing contains no explanation or dissent, and the trade court has not yet signaled how it plans to proceed.
A coalition of small businesses and blue states, including Maine and Minnesota, is listed as the plaintiff and appellant in the case against the federal government.
Last month, the Supreme Court determined that Trump’s use of an emergency declaration to impose global tariffs last spring was unlawful.
Shortly after the landmark decision, the president issued a new 10% tariff and later updated the rate to 15%. This time, the tariffs were imposed under the Trade Act of 1974. The workaround allows the executive branch to continue taxing imports from foreign trading partners without violating the Supreme Court’s decision.
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The tariff ruling quickly sparked a wave of refund lawsuits, including one filed by FedEx. The shipping company intends to redistribute the money incurred by tariffs to its customers if the Trump administration issues refunds.
It remains to be seen how the trade court will rule, although it unanimously struck down Trump’s tariffs last May before the issue went to the Supreme Court for consideration.