A US judge will meet privately with government lawyers to establish a process for refunding up to USD 175 billion in tariffs ruled illegal, a case involving millions of records and thousands of lawsuits.
NEW YORK: A US judge will hold a closed-door meeting with government lawyers on Friday to establish a process for refunding up to USD 175 billion in tariffs ruled illegal.
The “settlement conference” before Judge Richard Eaton of the US Court of International Trade aims to resolve the unprecedented task of reimbursing over 300,000 importers.
Government lawyers have stated the refund process is of an unprecedented scale. They argue it may require a manual review of tens of millions of individual tariff payment records.
READ MORE: Trump administration seeks delay in tariff refunds battle
The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET and is described on the court calendar as a “closed conference.” Court clerk Gina Justice told Reuters the private meeting was a standard “settlement conference.”
Judge Eaton is overseeing a case brought by a single importer, Atmus Filtration Inc, which paid USD 11 million in the illegal tariffs. This case has become the vehicle for determining a refund process applicable to around 2,000 similar lawsuits.
On Wednesday, Judge Eaton issued a sweeping order directing US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to begin refunds using its existing internal process. The order made clear it applied to all affected importers, not just Atmus.
The tariffs were struck down by the US Supreme Court on February 20. The court ruled former President Donald Trump exceeded his authority, but provided no guidance on issuing refunds.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a dissenting opinion, warned the refund process could become a “mess.” The vast majority of impacted importers are small businesses concerned about a costly and distracting claims process.
Judge Eaton said he expected CBP lawyers to attend Friday’s meeting to resolve how to handle paperwork for 79 million shipments. “I don’t believe that any of this has to be chaotic,” he said at a hearing on Wednesday.
An attorney involved in other refund cases told Reuters they believe the meeting will result in a public process for relatively quick refunds for most importers without needing to sue.
Other importers, including VOS Selections and Learning Resources, filed cases early in 2025 that reached the Supreme Court. Their legal teams have asked for their cases to be transferred to Judge Eaton.
