The Trump administration has refunded nearly $100 billion to US importers after the Supreme Court struck down its global tariffs earlier this year, even
as a fresh legal battle brews over a new round of duties introduced in their place. According to customs filings submitted to the US Court of International Trade and cited by the Financial Times, the administration has returned about 60% of the estimated $166 billion collected under the now-invalid tariffs. The Supreme Court, in February, ruled that President Donald Trump had unlawfully imposed the levies using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). However, the tariff dispute is far from over. A coalition of US states has now filed a lawsuit challenging the administration's newly imposed duties, arguing they are effectively a replacement for the tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court. The case sets the stage for another legal showdown over Trump's trade policy.
Why states are suing Trump
The administration has since rebuilt much of its tariff regime, imposing new double-digit duties on dozens of trading partners. This time, the White House says the tariffs are aimed at countries that have failed to do enough to eliminate forced labor from their supply chains.
However, the new tariffs have triggered another legal challenge. Two dozen US states have sued the Trump administration, arguing that the forced labor rationale is merely a pretext to reimpose tariffs that the Supreme Court had already ruled unlawful in February.
“After losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs,” Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, one of the 25 states suing over the new duties, told Newsweek.
A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Newsweek the new tariffs were "targeting countries that lack effective bans on importing goods produced with forced labor" and said the agency was “aware that lawsuits have been filed in the Court of International Trade challenging the imposition of these duties.”
According to filings in the US Court of International Trade, over 330,000 importers unduly paid tariffs on more than 53 million shipments thanks to Trump’s IEEPA duties, Newsweek reported. The administration has agreed to return, with interest, the amount paid by American businesses, though it has sought to avoid rebates for certain entries and experts say it is unlikely the full amount will ever be repaid.
Notably, trade experts have been left surprised by the rate at which the administration is paying out the rebates, given officials had previously said this process could take years.
Speaking at the Economic Club of Dallas in February following the Supreme Court decision, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the refund process “could be dragged out for weeks, months, years.”
According to the Financial Times, CBP has said that over $128 billion worth of refunds have been “accepted for processing,” indicating that more refunds could be on the way.
