U.S. importers still paying Trump's illegal tariffs even after Supreme Court ruling

Despite Friday's Supreme Court decision that ruled President Donald Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs illegal, U.S. importers are still paying billions in duties on goods entering the country as U.S. Customs and Border Protection has yet to update its system to remove the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Supreme Court ruling came as a significant development in trade policy, but practical implementation has lagged. U.S. Customs posted a bulletin acknowledging the decision, stating they are 'working with other government agencies to fully examine the implications' and will provide additional guidance when available. The Automated Commercial Environment, the paperless system used for processing imports and exports, still requires importers to report the IEEPA tariff codes to obtain release of goods. According to Lori Mullins, director of operations at Rogers & Brown Custom Brokers, 'Customs has not removed the requirement to report the IEEPA tariff codes in order to obtain a release of goods, so for cargo to continue moving, the IEEPA tariffs are still being reported on entries.' The scale of the issue is substantial, with an estimated 211,000 containers valued at $8.2 billion arriving in U.S. ports between Friday and Sunday alone. Importers have a 10-day window to pay these tariffs, with no money actually transferring until day 10. This allows for amendments to customs entry summaries up to 9 days after cargo release before payment must be made on day 10. However, questions remain about how CBP will handle entries for cargo released over the last 10 days that will be paid next week. Michael Lowell, partner at law firm Reed Smith, explained that 'it'll likely take Customs some time to reconfigure their system,' meaning importers who filed paperwork with the tariff over the weekend may need to file post-summary corrections once the system is updated. Beyond the immediate system issues, a layer of uncertainty surrounds refunds, which the Supreme Court did not rule on. These questions will be decided by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT). Ben Bidwell, senior director for Customs at CH Robinson, noted this is 'the first time a tariff has been declared unconstitutional with this amount of money at stake,' creating many questions about whether refunds will be available. Kuehne + Nagel, a transportation and fulfillment services giant, warned that while CIT is expected to handle refund mechanisms, 'no timelines exist; high volumes of claims could create years-long delays.' The CIT has yet to comment on the matter, leaving importers in a state of limbo regarding potential refunds.