By David Lawder
WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will “remember” companies that do not seek refunds for tariffs paid that were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, implying they would somehow benefit by abstaining from the U.S. government’s new refund portal.
On the second day that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency began accepting electronic refund applications, Trump told CNBC that he was pleased to hear about media reports that Apple, Amazon and some other large companies have not yet sought refunds.
“It’s brilliant if they don’t do that,” Trump said in a phone conversation with CNBC anchors that was aired live.
“If they don’t do that, I’ll remember them. I will tell you that, because I’m looking to make this country strong,” the Republican president said.
Trump, who has characterized the payment of tariffs by U.S. importers as a patriotic act, on Tuesday appeared to characterize American companies that are pursuing refunds as the “enemy.”
“In many cases, the enemy – the enemy – is getting this money,” Trump said, apparently referring to those companies.
“The people that have hated the United States, we’re giving them checks for billions of dollars. It’s so sad to see,” Trump added, without naming any specific companies or countries of origin for the imported products.
Trump said the Supreme Court “could have helped us” by upholding the sweeping global tariffs he imposed last year under a 1977 law meant for use in national emergencies. Trump denounced the court after its February ruling that he had exceeded his powers.
The ruling by the justices led to a decision by Judge Richard Eaton of the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade that the CBP create a system to process up to $166 billion in refunds. The system, called CAPE, was launched on Monday, mostly without serious glitches.
Eaton on Tuesday issued a temporary stay, ordering CBP to submit a progress report on the first phase of its refund processing system by April 28.
It was not immediately clear what impact the stay would have on the processing of refunds. Payments were not expected to be issued until 60 to 90 days after CBP acceptance of refund submissions.
Matthew Seligman, a founding partner of Grayhawk Law who is advising companies on tariff litigation and refund strategies, said he does not think the stay will change processing by CBP and that it may be related to a change in the case’s lead plaintiff.
“It’s an acknowledgment that CAPE launched yesterday,” Seligman said.
CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of the refund processing.
Eaton also has given the Trump administration a June 7 deadline to appeal his ruling requiring refunds.
Damon Pike, a customs expert at the firm BDO USA, said that if an appeal by the administration moves forward, companies may be required to file individual lawsuits to claim their refunds, which would slow the process down.
“The Justice Department wants to make this as hard as possible,” Pike said, adding that an appeal would likely stop the processing of refunds.
LAWSUITS BY COMPANIES
Some big companies including Costco, FedEx and Mondelez have sued the U.S. government to preserve their ability to secure tariffs refunds as quickly as possible. Other companies including Walmart and Amazon have not filed lawsuits, a move some experts see as an attempt to avoid the ire of Trump.
Trump told CNBC that the alternative tariffs that his administration is working to impose, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, may produce even more revenue than the tariffs that were struck down, but would be more complicated. The Section 301 unfair trade practices tariff process requires investigations and public comments. Those tariffs are not expected to be imposed until July.
“So we’re doing it a different way. We’re going to end up with the same – actually, we’ll end up with bigger numbers, actually – but it’s a little more unwieldy. But it’s the way it’s been done,” Trump said.
(Reporting by David Lawder; additional reporting by Tom Hals, Tim Aeppel, Andrea Shalal, Nicholas Brown and Arriana McLymore; Editing by Will Dunham)
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