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The federal government is fighting to claw back tariff refunds that a trade court ordered it to pay—even to companies that never sued to get them.
In a brief filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, government lawyers argue that a Court of International Trade judge overstepped his authority when he ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to refund all companies that paid tariffs ruled illegal in February, not just those that had filed suit.
In its appeal, government lawyers point to a case that went before the Supreme Court in June 2025, over birthright citizenship. Part of the decision in that case limited the use of universal injunctions, which apply a ruling to all people or companies affected, not just specific litigants.
Judge Richard Eaton, who is overseeing the tariff lawsuits in the Court of International Trade, has said the limits on universal injunctions don’t apply in this case, but the government disagrees.
The majority of tariff refunds have already been paid out. CBP has already processed and certified $100 billion in refunds. At issue are companies that paid tariffs that went through the customs process and entries were finalized. There’s a congressional rule that the CBP cannot reprocess tariffs for which the administrative refund process is no longer available. Those companies are free to file a lawsuit to get that money back, the government says.
