U.S. Judge Holds Closed-Door Meeting on Friday to Establish Process for Trump Tariff Refunds

Odaily News According to Reuters, U.S. judges will meet behind closed doors with government lawyers on Friday to seek to establish a process for refunding up to $175 billion in illegally collected tariffs. One judge referred to the meeting as a "settlement conference." U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton will meet with lawyers representing the customs agency, which is responsible for issuing refunds to over 300,000 importers who paid tariffs ruled unconstitutional. Government lawyers have stated that the process for refunding the Trump-era tariffs is unprecedented in scale, requiring manual review of tens of millions of tariff payment records. While U.S. courts are generally open to the public, judges sometimes meet privately with parties to discuss scheduling or how to handle sensitive information. The court's website schedule shows Friday's meeting as "closed." The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on February 20th that Trump exceeded his authority, with most of the tariffs declared unconstitutional, disrupting a key component of his economic policy.