US customs agency says building system for tariff refunds is 40% to 80% complete [View all]

Source: msn/Reuters

11h


March 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's work to build a four-part system to refund $166 billion in illegal tariff collections with interest is between 40% and 80% complete, according to a court filing on Thursday. Brandon Lord, an official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said in a court filing the agency is developing an online claim portal for importers and brokers to submit refund requests.

Once submitted, the claims will go through processing, review and refunding, according to the filing. Lord said in a filing last week the system could be operating as soon as mid-April. Lord's filing at the U.S. Court of International Trade was made to comply with an order issued last week by Judge Richard Eaton as part of his directive to refund tariff payments.

Most U.S. tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump's central economic policy. However, the Supreme Court did not provide guidance on refunding the tariff payments that had been collected from importers since February 2024.

Many large importers such as FedEx sued CBP to protect their right to a refund, which Trump said could take up to five years. Many smaller importers feared the cost of the refund process would outweigh the benefits of trying to get reimbursed.

Read more: www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-customs-agency-says-building-system-for-tariff-refunds-is-40-to-80-complete/ar-AA1YvnUp