The Justice Department has formally requested that the U.S. Court of International Trade delay establishing a schedule for returning funds collected under trade levies that the Supreme Court invalidated. In a filing made late on a Friday, government lawyers asked the court to allow up to 120 days - a four-month window - before setting the next procedural deadlines in the refund process.
The request follows a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court on February 20 that found earlier trade levies unlawful. The DOJ framed its petition as a pause to manage procedural complexity and to provide time for the "political branches" to evaluate how to proceed, arguing that a slower approach is warranted instead of moving with "breakneck speed."
Government lawyers did not deny that a refund process will take place. However, the filing stopped short of promising immediate and complete repayment. The DOJ asserted that any financial injury to importers is "remediable" through later payments that would include interest, downplaying the urgency of immediate cash restitution.
New tariffs already put in place
The administration’s filing also noted that the levies the Court struck down have been supplanted by new global tariffs implemented under a different legal authority. The DOJ described these successor duties as "vigorous new tariffs," but it did not provide specifics about how those replacement measures would be factored into calculations for refunds.
That omission leaves open questions about how the government will reconcile amounts collected under the now-unlawful levies with revenues from the newly imposed duties. The filing did not quantify any offset or adjustment mechanism, and the government did not say whether the new tariffs will reduce the net cash outflow tied to refunds.
Reactions from affected parties
Lawyers representing importers and businesses that paid the struck-down levies responded sharply to the DOJ’s request. Those outside counsel accused the administration of using the procedural delay to avoid an immediate fiscal impact stemming from the Supreme Court’s ruling.
For companies across sectors including retail and manufacturing, the requested 120-day pause presents a material obstacle. Many firms had been anticipating the repatriation of these funds and had hoped to count on recovered capital by the second half of 2026 to help offset the expense of the administration’s current trade barriers.
Implications remain limited to what’s in the filing
The government’s motion emphasizes the need for deliberation and administrative planning but leaves significant specifics unanswered - notably how the replacement tariffs interact with refund calculations and the precise timing of payments. The DOJ’s assertion that monetary harm can be remedied later with interest frames the dispute as one of timing rather than ultimate liability, but it does not resolve when affected companies will regain access to funds that could amount to billions of dollars.
As the court considers the DOJ’s request for up to 120 days, the procedural pause could postpone the next phase of a multi-billion dollar repayment process, with practical consequences for corporate liquidity and planning across impacted industries.