Federal appeals court rejects DOJ's push to delay start of tariff refund process

Politics Federal appeals court rejects Trump administration's push to delay start of tariff refund process after Supreme Court ruling By Jacob Rosen , Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump's 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Read Full Bio Jacob Rosen , Melissa Quinn Melissa Quinn Senior Reporter, Politics Melissa Quinn is a senior reporter for CBSNews.com, where she covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts. Read Full Bio Melissa Quinn March 2, 2026 / 1:39 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — A federal appeals court on Monday declined to delay implementation of the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of President Trump's tariffs, allowing next steps in processing of tariff refunds to begin swiftly, following the high court's decision last month. The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clears the way for the lower court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, to begin the process of crafting relief for the small businesses that successfully challenged Mr. Trump's global tariffs. The Trump administration had said it would issue refunds if the duties targeting nearly every U.S. trading partner around the world were ultimately found unlawful by the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in a 6-3 decision that a federal emergency powers law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, did not give the president the authority to impose tariffs. But on Friday, the Trump administration asked the Federal Circuit to wait 90 days before issuing its mandate "to allow the political branches an opportunity to consider options," after the Supreme Court's decision. The high court did not address the issue of refunds in its ruling, which dismantled a cornerstone of Mr. Trump's econom...