US Customs Agency Unable to Reimburse Tariff Costs Yet

US Customs and Border Protection Agency Announces Delay in Setting Up System for Refund Process

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has announced that it needs an additional 45 days to set up a system to process refund requests for tariffs recently struck down by the Supreme Court. The announcement was made on Friday, following a closed-door meeting with Judge Richard Eaton from the US Court of International Trade.

In February, the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs was illegal. As a result, importers who were charged tariffs under this law are eligible for refunds. The CBP agency has estimated that tariff deposits made under IEEPA are valued at approximately $166 billion.

The agency’s director of trade policies programme, Brandon Lord, stated in a court filing that the agency needs time to reprogram its record system to catalogue duties collected from importers. Lord noted that automating the process would save the CBP more than four million hours of manual labor. However, setting up the new system requires at least 45 days.

Lord emphasized the complexity of the task, stating that the CBP has never processed a volume of refunds anywhere near the number of total entries and Entry Summary lines on which IEEPA duties have been deposited. The agency also stated that companies will not have to file lawsuits to receive reimbursements under the new system, which will require minimal submission from importers.

As of February 6, only 21,423 importers had signed up for electronic registration to receive refunds, out of approximately 330,566 who were eligible. Lord warned that refunds would be rejected until importers complete the process electronically.

Source: Al Jazeera