Federal appeals court rejects Trump administration's push to delay start of tariff refund process

Source: CBS News

March 2, 2026 / 1:39 PM EST / CBS News


Washington — A federal appeals court on Monday declined to delay implementation of the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of President Trump's tariffs, allowing next steps in processing of tariff refunds to begin swiftly, following the high court's decision last month. The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clears the way for the lower court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, to begin the process of crafting relief for the small businesses that successfully challenged Mr. Trump's global tariffs.

The Trump administration had said it would issue refunds if the duties targeting nearly every U.S. trading partner around the world were ultimately found unlawful by the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in a 6-3 decision that a federal emergency powers law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, did not give the president the authority to impose tariffs.

But on Friday, the Trump administration asked the Federal Circuit to wait 90 days before issuing its mandate "to allow the political branches an opportunity to consider options," after the Supreme Court's decision. The high court did not address the issue of refunds in its ruling, which dismantled a cornerstone of Mr. Trump's economic agenda.

Justice Department lawyers estimated that it could take years for the refund process to play out, even though Trump administration officials had been warning for weeks that the government could be on the hook to pay back the levies it collected from importers if it lost before the Supreme Court.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-appeals-court-rejects-trump-tariff-refund-delay-supreme-court/