A federal appeals court on Monday turned down the Trump administration's request to hold off further litigation in the dispute over tariff refunds for importers, ordering that the case be reopened without delay and remanded to the U.S. Court of International Trade.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order to immediately resume proceedings and return the litigation to the trade court. The appeals court declined the government's proposal for a pause lasting as long as four months.
A coalition of small businesses, whose case was the subject of Supreme Court review, had urged the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., to finish its portion of the litigation quickly so those importers could pursue refunds sooner rather than later.
More than 2,000 tariff lawsuits have been filed in the aftermath of the Supreme Court hearing in November, with nearly all of those cases submitted to the trade court in New York. The trade court had placed all matters on hold while awaiting the Supreme Court's decision.
The Federal Circuit's order did not include a written opinion explaining the court's reasoning, and the record shows no dissent was entered alongside the ruling.
The Justice Department had requested that the appeals court delay action until not only the Supreme Court finalized its judgment, but also until the political branches had time to evaluate potential next steps. The government pointed out that the Supreme Court customarily takes 32 days to formally close a case and asked the Federal Circuit to maintain the stay for an additional 90 days before sending the matter back to the trade court.
On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court held, by a 6-3 vote, that the former president's use of a 1977 emergency powers statute to impose global tariffs was unlawful. That ruling prompted the wave of refund litigation now concentrated in the Court of International Trade.
What this means going forward:
- With the Federal Circuit's order to reopen, the trade court in New York is set to resume handling the large docket of refund suits.
- Small businesses and other importers seeking refunds may proceed without the additional delay the government had sought.
- The Justice Department had sought time for the political branches to consider options following the Supreme Court's decision, but the appeals court declined that request.
Because the Federal Circuit did not provide a written explanation, some procedural uncertainties remain about the court's reasoning. The litigation landscape, however, now moves back to the trade court where the bulk of more than 2,000 suits are pending.