Why US tariff refunds are now a very real possibility … and a giant ‘mess’
Should Supreme Court rule against Donald Trump’s trade levies in coming weeks, the big question is how potential tariff refunds would work
Marilyn-Joy Cerny has challenged the US government thousands of times during her 35-year career as a trade lawyer, enjoying an enviable record of recovering tariff money for importers whom Washington wrongfully charged.
“I have filed so many protests in my day, I joke with my team that Customs might be saying, ‘me think she doth protest too much’,” said Cerny, managing partner with law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg. “Of my protest cases that I’ve had to take to court? I would say 95, 96 per cent [were successful]. But the Supreme Court may really erode my success rate.”
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Trump’s legal team, however, argues that the decades-old US trade deficit is a national emergency that justifies imposing tariffs on most of the world and that they are regulatory and not aimed at generating revenue.
Should the ruling go against Trump – the decision is expected within weeks, lightning speed by Supreme Court standards – Washington may have to engineer a giveback larger than the annual GDP of over 100 nations.