The tariff crisis Trump's tariff policy

After the complaints - judge extends deadline for tariffs

The US customs agency will have some more time to deal with the massive influx of refund requests from companies that want their share of paid tariffs back.

On Friday, federal judge Richard Eaton relaxed his decision from earlier this week, in which the state was ordered to immediately begin refunds.

The changed decision came after customs authorities raised the alarm that existing systems do not have the capacity to handle so many refund requests that have come in since the Supreme Court in February ruled that Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs were illegal.

According to the authorities, a refund plan could be ready within 45 days.

The tariffs — the case at hand

• On February 20, 2026, the US Supreme Court invalidated Donald Trump’s global trade tariffs under the emergency law IEEPA.
• The court ruled by a vote of 6-3 that the president exceeded his authority, which led to the tariffs having to be terminated.
• A federal judge in New York ruled on March 4 that companies are entitled to a refund of customs duties, but the government has refused to pay back about $150 billion.
• The US Customs Service stated the next day that it does not have enough capacity to handle all refund requests from companies, but that it could take 45 days to build a system.