U.S. appeals court denies Trump bid to delay tariff refund lawsuits

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC.

A. U.S. federal appeals court on Monday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to delay legal proceedings linked to refunds of his tariffs, allowing the battle to proceed in a lower court.

The Supreme Court last month delivered a stinging rebuke of Trump’s signature economic policy by striking down many of his global tariffs -- opening the door to a complicated legal fight as companies sue for their money back.

The tariffs ruled illegal by the high court had generated over US$130 billion for the U.S. government as of late-2025.

The Trump administration had argued on Friday for a delay of up to four months before litigation on refunds is brought up again before the U.S. Court of International Trade.

But the demand was denied on Monday in an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

A group of small businesses whose case is before the court said in an earlier filing on Monday that the Trump administration’s call for a months-long delay was “plainly unreasonable.”

“This Court should not accept the government’s invitation to grant forms of relief the Supreme Court obviously found inappropriate,” the group of firms argued.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in August last year that many of Trump’s tariffs were illegal, but would return the question of refunds to the Court of International Trade.

It held off on returning the case to the lower court as Trump appealed to the Supreme Court -- but on Monday lifted the halt.

In response to the high court’s ruling that struck down his country-specific tariffs, Trump tapped a different law to impose a new 10 per cent duty on imports. He has since threatened to hike the level to 15 per cent.