Trade Court Orders Customs Chief to Hearing Over $166 Billion Tariff Refunds

2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 27

Rodney Scott, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was ordered to appear next month as judges press the Trump administration over repayment of roughly $166 billion in tariffs.
The hearing order signals concern that the government has not fully complied with directives to return duties the Supreme Court struck down in February as illegal reciprocal tariffs.
Customs began accepting refund claims in late April, but the system covers only about $127 billion of the roughly $166 billion collected under the IEEPA-based tariffs.
The unresolved balance involves older finalized entries and other imports with more complicated customs treatment, leaving officials still without a public plan for full repayment plus interest.

With $39 billion in tariff refunds still missing, how will the government make every business whole?

Consumers paid for the illegal tariffs. Will companies be forced to pass their billion-dollar refunds back to the public?

A new market lets investors buy refund claims. Who profits more: original importers or hedge funds?