The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is nearing its first big legal deadline in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that President Donald Trump’s tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are illegal.
The DOJ needs to weigh in by Friday on one of the first legal fights over refunds in which plaintiffs are asking for expedited payment of tariff refunds through the Court of International Trade (CIT), which has typically handled tariff cases.
Trade attorneys have told CNBC there are upwards of 2,000 cases that have been filed by companies suing for tariff refunds at the CIT. Back in December, the CIT put a stay on the cases until after the Supreme Court announced its decision.
After the Supreme Court ruling, one of the plaintiffs, V.O.S., filed a motion for its case, which was in federal appeals court pending the Supreme Court decision, to be moved as soon as possible through the Court of International Trade for refund payment. The federal district court sent a motion to the Department of Justice, asking for the DOJ to respond on or before February 27 to allow the case to go back to the CIT for its ruling. As of Thursday afternoon, there had been no filing by the DOJ. It did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
