On March 4, 2026, Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that “importers of record” are “entitled to benefit” from the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 20 ruling that the tariffs President Donald Trump established using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unconstitutional.
This decision mandates that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) begin issuing refunds for more than $130 billion collected under the IEEPA tariffs. A Trump administration official has confirmed that these refunds, if validated, will include interest.
But the administration also plans to appeal the court’s ruling, citing claims that processing the refunds could be onerous for CBP. The agency says the process will require manual review of more than 70 million individual transactions and has asked for up to four months to assess its options.
Eaton wrote in his ruling that his court alone would have jurisdiction over any future “cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA duties.”
While the two rulings constitute a major defeat for Trump’s economic policy, the administration is attempting to replace the lost revenue by pivoting to other tariff authorities.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that an across-the-board tariff of 10 percent the White House announced immediately after the Supreme Court ruling would rise to 15 percent last week, under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. He also claimed that he doesn’t expect any drop in projected government revenue for the year and forecasted that tariffs would be “back to their old rate” in five months.
In response to the announcement, a coalition of 24 state attorneys general and governors filed a lawsuit March 5 in the U.S. Court of International Trade to stop the new Sec. 122 tariffs from going into effect.
All of these actions add up to considerable uncertainty for American businesses, regardless of how much they import. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has compiled a reference document to help businesses find answers and determine whether they may be eligible for a refund, available here.
IEC Government Affairs is seeking stories of IEC members impacted by high taxes, which includes tariffs, for use in advocacy materials. No names will be shared publicly without written consent. To submit your story, please email jcroft@ieci.org.