Trump Administration Refunds Billions In Tariffs

The Trump Administration has refunded about $US100 billion in tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by using emergency powers to impose duties on dozens of trading partners.

Customs officials said the government collected about $166 billion before the Court’s February ruling.

So far, more than three quarters of $128 billion set aside for refunds has now been returned to importers.

The Supreme Court found that President Trump had improperly used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China and more than 90 other countries.

Following that decision, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that companies affected by the invalidated tariffs should be reimbursed.

The ruling does not affect industry specific tariffs on products such as steel, automobiles and copper.

Despite the court’s decision, the Trump Administration has continued to introduce new tariffs, including recent duties on imports from countries it says have not done enough to combat forced labour.