Trump DOJ faces first big tariff refund court deadline on Friday

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is nearing its first big legal deadline in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that President Donald Trump‘s tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are illegal.

The DOJ needs to weigh in by Friday on one of the first legal fights over refunds in which plaintiffs are asking for expedited payment of tariff refunds through the Court of International Trade (CIT), which has typically handled tariff cases.

Trade attorneys have told CNBC there are upwards of 2,000 cases that have been filed by companies suing for tariff refunds at the CIT. Back in December, the CIT put a stay on the cases until after the Supreme Court announced its decision.

After the Supreme Court ruling, one of the plaintiffs, V.O.S., filed a motion for its case, which was in federal appeals court pending the Supreme Court decision, to be moved as soon as possible through the Court of International Trade for refund payment. The federal district court sent a motion to the Department of Justice, asking for the DOJ to respond on or before February 27 to allow the case to go back to the CIT for its ruling. As of Thursday afternoon, there had been no filing by the DOJ. It did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The Supreme Court gave the government court system 32 days to decide on next steps after its ruling.

While the case only covers one group of small businesses, it has legal implications for many cases, the plaintiffs said in their filing: “This Court’s prompt action in this case will facilitate the prompt payment of refunds to the numerous other plaintiffs that have filed and will file IEEPA tariff challenges in this Court. … the refund process in this case can be used as a template for providing swift relief in those other actions as well.”

Trade attorneys and customs experts tell CNBC approximately 300,000 shippers have paid the tariffs and by some estimates there is as much as $175 billion in potential refunds. More companies have sued in the wake of the Supreme court decision, including a case filed last week by FedEx after the Supreme Court ruling.

The DOJ response to the court request may begin to reveal how the Trump administration plans to navigate the refund process. President Trump said at a press conference last Friday that it could take years to litigate the tariff refund issue. Democrats on Capitol Hill have been pressing for a plan from the administration to repay the tariffs since last Friday, citing the fact that it had months to prepare for an adverse ruling. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview last Friday on Fox News it “could take years to litigate and get to a payout. If there is a payout, it looks like it’s just going to be the ultimate corporate welfare.”

The plaintiffs state in their motion that they want to require the government to issue the administrative orders necessary to “promptly effectuate the invalidation of the IEEPA tariffs — including any administrative orders necessary to ensure that Plaintiffs swiftly receive the refunds, with interest, that the government has committed to provide.”

While the motion says the plaintiffs do not expect the government to oppose the court, “the Administration’s recent public statements suggest that injunctive relief from this Court will be necessary to ensure the government promptly adheres to its commitments to pay.”

Trade experts have said that while the Court decision did not specifically weigh in on the tariff process — it was only Justice Brett Kavanaugh in his dissent who said it could be a “mess” — refunds are due to companies.

“It is clear that the importers of record that paid the unlawful tariffs are entitled to the amounts they paid,” said Pratik A. Shah, lead attorney for Learning Resources Supreme Court Case and head of the Supreme Court practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. “There is no doubt that people that paid the IEEPA tariffs should get refunds. The only question is the process by which refunds will be made.”