Following the Supreme Court's ruling invalidating the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs, the case has now been remanded to the Court of International Trade. The trade court will handle refund lawsuits involving approximately $133 billion (about 190 trillion won) in tariffs already collected.
According to Reuters on Monday (local time), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remanded the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs to the Court of International Trade. Since the Supreme Court only ruled on the legality of the reciprocal tariffs without addressing detailed matters such as refunds, the case was returned to the Court of International Trade, the court with jurisdiction, to proceed with related procedures.
The decision was made swiftly in response to requests from import and export companies. The Trump administration reportedly asked for a four-month delay in the case transfer to review its options, but the court rejected the request. Import and export companies are demanding the government establish an official refund process. Approximately 2,000 companies have filed refund claims to date.
However, with the Trump administration showing signs of resistance, actual refunds are expected to take time. On May 28, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: "It makes no sense that Countries & Companies that took advantage of us for decades, and received Billions of Dollars that should have never been allowed, will now qualify for an unprecedented, unjust 'windfall' based on a decision that, to put it mildly, is very disappointing." He added, "Is a Rehearing or Readjudication possible on this case?"
The "rehearing" procedure mentioned by President Trump is stipulated in Rule 44 of the Rules of the Supreme Court. Petitions must be filed within 25 days of the judgment or decision being entered. The Supreme Court ruling that reciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful was issued on May 20 with a 6-3 vote. Since a rehearing requires a majority of justices who joined the original decision to agree upon the suggestion of one such justice, the likelihood of success remains low even if formally proposed.