US to stop collecting tariffs deemed illegal by Supreme Court on Feb 24
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The Customs and Border Protection agency did not explain why it continued collection days after tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were declared illegal.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – The US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said it will halt collections of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) at 12.01am Eastern time (1.01pm Singapore time) on Feb 24, more than three days after the US Supreme Court declared the duties illegal
The agency said in a message to shippers on its Cargo Systems Messaging Service that it will deactivate all tariff codes associated with US President Donald Trump’s prior IEEPA-related orders as at Feb 24.
The IEEPA tariff collection halt coincides with Mr Trump’s imposition of a new, 15 per cent global tariff
CBP gave no reason why it was continuing to collect the tariffs at ports of entry days after the Supreme Court’s ruling, and its message offered no information about possible refunds for importers.
The message noted that the collection halt does not affect any other tariffs imposed by Mr Trump, including those under the Section 232 national security statute and the Section 301 unfair trade practices statute.
“CBP will provide additional guidance to the trade community through CSMS messages as appropriate,” the agency said.
Reuters reported on Feb 20 that the Supreme Court decision made more than US$175 billion (S$221.6 billion) in US Treasury revenue generated by the IEEPA tariffs subject to potential refunds, based on an estimate by Penn Wharton Budget Model economists.
Their estimate from a ground-up forecasting model showed that IEEPA-based tariffs were generating more than US$500 million a day in gross revenue. REUTERS
