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Trade Judge Replies to Trump Appeal, Calls Filings 'Colorful'
Letter Made Public June 3 Questions Legal Stance in $166 Billion Tariff Refund Fight
Key Takeaways:
- Judge Richard Eaton on June 3 rebuked the Trump administration’s appeal in tariff refund litigation, calling its filings “colorful” and challenging its stance.
- He warned intervention could disrupt a portal linked to his order refunding $166 billion in unlawful tariffs, with agencies reporting at least $85 billion paid.
- Eaton scheduled a public conference for June 9 as the Justice Department appeals his refund order and his demand that CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott testify.
A U.S. trade judge took the unusual step of personally responding to the Trump administration’s appeal of his order to refund $166 billion in tariffs the Supreme Court declared unlawful, calling the government’s filings “colorful” and questioning its legal stance.
In a letter made public June 3, Judge Richard Eaton suggested that if the Justice Department succeeded in asking an appeals court to immediately intervene, it could have consequences for an online claims system that has been processing at least $85 billion in refunds so far.
The government contends that it set up the portal under its “own authorities,” distancing it from Eaton’s order. The judge wrote that “the government has every reason to be proud” of its efforts to pay refunds, but warned that an order interfering with his handling of the litigation “would discourage continuing progress.”
The judge also attached 30 pages of materials that he said showed U.S. agencies acknowledging that they created the portal in response to his ruling, as opposed to “voluntarily.” He asked for his letter, which was addressed to the Justice Department, to become part of the record of the case.
It’s rare for judges to directly push back against parties who appeal their rulings, although the tariff refund litigation as a whole has been unconventional. Eaton was placed in charge of managing thousands of lawsuits filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade by importers seeking repayment, which were largely put on hold until the Supreme Court ruled in February.
Liberty Justice Center, which has been representing small businesses in one of the lead tariff cases, posted a statement on social media that Eaton’s letter made the “important point” that “progress made so far toward refunding unlawful IEEPA tariffs ONLY happened because the court ordered the government to act.”
Judge Eaton’s latest filing makes an important point: the progress made so far toward refunding unlawful IEEPA tariffs ONLY happened because the court ordered the government to act.
We look forward to the June 9 hearing, where all parties will have the opportunity to address the… pic.twitter.com/0GcxkDgOew — Liberty Justice Center (@LJCenter) June 3, 2026
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Eaton has held a number of hearings under seal but scheduled a public conference for June 9 to discuss next steps. The government is separately appealing the judge’s order for Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, whose agency is responsible for collecting duties and the system it built to manage the refunds, to appear to testify at that hearing.
Separately June 3, Eaton submitted another letter defending his order for Scott to appear in court.
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Eaton suspended his broad order for refunds to give the administration time to develop the online claims system. The portal had a relatively smooth launch in April, but U.S. officials made clear from the beginning that the system wouldn’t process refunds for certain categories of tariffs, particularly if they had become final.
The government hasn’t specified how many of the approximately 330,000 importers who paid the contested levies wouldn’t be eligible to seek refunds through the portal. Some trade lawyers and companies have expressed concerns that the administration is trying to shift too much of the burden for seeking refunds to importers and that small businesses may struggle to navigate the claims process or file a lawsuit, if that’s required.
In recent weeks, Eaton indicated that he was considering lifting his suspension and allowing the full implementation of the refund order. The Justice Department filed the formal appeal notice this week.
The Justice Department’s challenge is rooted in an argument that CBP can’t legally reopen import entries that have finalized, and that Eaton lacks authority to order refunds for importers with "finally liquidated" entries who haven’t independently filed lawsuits in the New York-based trade court. The government is citing a Supreme Court precedent that limits the power of judges to issue nationwide or so-called universal injunctions.
The case is V.O.S. Selections v. United States, 25-cv-66, US Court of International Trade (New York).
