Tariff Refunds (Eventually) for US Diamond Importers

(IDEX Online) - Diamond importers in the US can expect refunds, eventually, on reciprocal tariffs paid before they were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court last month.

It follows a ruling by a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade on 4 March ordering U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund all IEEPA tariffs paid before they were declared illegal on 20 February.

The ruling should allow importers to apply to the CBP for refunds, with interest, from mid-April in what is being described as a streamlined process.

But the CBP has cautioned there could be significant delays in processing 53m entries from 330,000 importers across all sectors of goods, not just diamonds.

To apply for refunds, diamond traders should log on the CBP's ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) Portal and upload summaries showing IEEPA duties paid. 

The new ruling does not affect the new 10% tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump in response to his original tariffs being struck down. They are widely expected to be increased to 15%, the legal maximum, as early as this week.

Trump's first tariffs were imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) after he declared a "national emergency" last April.