U.S. Judge Holds Closed-Door Meeting Friday to Establish Trump Tariff Refund Process

Odaily News According to Reuters, a U.S. judge will meet with government lawyers behind closed doors on Friday to seek to establish a process for refunding up to $175 billion in illegally collected tariffs. A 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 refunding over 300,000 importers who paid tariffs ruled unconstitutional. Government lawyers have stated that the process for refunding the Trump 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 discuss scheduling or how to handle sensitive information privately with the parties involved. The court's website schedule shows Friday's meeting as a "closed-door session." On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority, with most of the tariffs being declared unconstitutional, disrupting a key component of his economic policy.