The U.S. Court of International Trade has instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start reversing tariffs that were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). This comes after a significant Supreme Court decision that ruled the tariffs were unlawful, allowing the agency to proceed with processing affected imports without these duties.

In a March 4 order in the case of Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States, Judge Richard K. Eaton determined that imports still unliquidated should be processed without the tariffs. Additionally, entries that had already been liquidated but are not final must be reliquidated to eliminate the charges. This action is in line with the U.S. Supreme Court's February 20 decision, which stated that the government did not have the authority to impose these tariffs using emergency powers granted under IEEPA.

The Court of International Trade affirmed that it has nationwide jurisdiction over customs issues, meaning that importers throughout the country can benefit from the Supreme Court's ruling.

“The Supreme Court has found that the duties are unlawful,” the court noted, instructing Customs to process affected entries without the IEEPA duties. This order affects both unliquidated entries and those still within the time frame for administrative correction.

In light of this ruling, there have been urgent requests from small businesses and trade groups for the federal government to promptly return the billions of dollars collected from these tariffs.

“This is a win for small businesses who have paid billions in illegal tariffs and should get their money back,” said Dan Anthony, the executive director of the We Pay the Tariffs coalition, in a statement released on Wednesday. “The Court acted quickly and correctly. Now it’s up to the government, and small businesses fear that they will delay action.”

Anthony emphasized that businesses expect refunds to be processed automatically, not through a lengthy claims process.

However, the ruling does not automatically ensure that widespread refunds will occur right away. While the court has directed Customs to remove the unlawful duties, the final amount and timing of any refunds may be influenced by possible appeals, administrative processing times, and whether specific entries qualify for reliquidation under customs law.

The coalition reports that over 1,000 small businesses have already signed a letter to Congress and the administration requesting that refunds be sent directly to importers based on existing payment records with Customs. The letter argues that companies should not have to submit extra applications, hire lawyers, or wait for years to get relief.

The coalition estimates that the tariffs imposed under IEEPA have cost businesses billions throughout the U.S. until December 2025. These estimates come from an analysis by Trade Partnership Worldwide’s State Tariff Tracker, which uses import data from the U.S. Census Bureau and tariff schedules from the U.S. International Trade Commission alongside state-specific import statistics.

Experts in trade policy suggest that the court’s order could lead to one of the largest tariff refund processes in recent U.S. history if Customs acts swiftly to implement the ruling.

This development also has far-reaching effects on global supply chains and shipping markets since the tariffs impacted a wide variety of imported goods arriving at U.S. ports.

At this moment, businesses are urging Washington to take action. “The Court acted swiftly,” Anthony stated. “Now small businesses need the government to respond just as quickly.”