Trump Admin says Tariff Refunds Because of Computer Problems

Sunday, March 08, 2026

The US Customs and Border Protection says it currently can't comply with an order to process billions of dollars in refunds stemming from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. In a filing on Friday, CBP executive director Brandon Lord says the agency's digital import processing system is "not well suited to a task of this scale," as reported earlier by CNBC.

Posted by LampLighter at 12:33 PM | 14 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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The declaration by Brandon Lord, a top Customs and Border Protection official, came as government lawyers were meeting with a federal trade judge to hammer out a process for returning $166 billion in tariff payments to around 330,000 importers reut.rs/4utouUW

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-- Reuters Legal (@legal.reuters.com) Mar 6, 2026 at 12:20 PM

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More from the article ...

... The CBP's admission comes after the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs imposed by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) last month. This week, the International Trade Court ruled that importers impacted by the tariffs are entitled to refunds with interest. The CBP estimates that it collected around $166 billion in IEEPA duties as of March 4th, 2026.

Companies like Nintendo, FedEx, and Costco have filed lawsuits against the US government in the International Trade Court, demanding refunds for the tariffs that the Supreme Court has deemed "illegal."

The CBP says it currently processes imports through its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system. In the filing, Lord says that using the department's existing technology, it would take more than 4.4 million hours to process refunds for the over 53.2 million entries with IEEPA duties. Despite these current limitations, the CBP says it's "confident" it can develop and launch new capabilities to "streamline and consolidate refunds and interest payments on an importer basis" -- but this could take 45 days. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-07 07:33 PM | Reply

@#1 ... it would take more than 4.4 million hours to process refunds for the over 53.2 million entries with IEEPA duties ...

OK, simple math ...

53.2 million entries would take 4.4 million hours to process?

That's only about 12 entries processed per hour.

Something sounds fishy here.

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-07 07:35 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Maybe they can't do it because Trumpers already stole the money.

#3 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-03-07 07:46 PM | Reply

Pretty sure that's complete --------

#4 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-03-07 08:01 PM | Reply

Maybe they can't do it because Trumpers already stole the money.

#3 | Posted by snoofy

Given the fraud embedded in the local, State and federal government of the US, it's highly probable.

But you'd only complain that Trump is doing it .

#5 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-03-07 08:04 PM | Reply

@#4 ... Pretty sure that's complete -------- ...

Yeah, I have a similar view of that excuse.

It is a federal computer system.

It did not seem to have any issues processing the incoming tariffs.

But, when there needs to be refunds...

Only 12 transactions per hour?

Yeah, looks and smells like BS.

#6 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-07 08:25 PM | Reply

Funny, all the companies know exactly how much they paid in tariffs.

Maybe just let the companies show their receipts and cut the checks?

#7 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-03-07 08:40 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

@#7

But... but... but...

That would speed up how quickly the refunds would be processed.

Pres Trump apparently cannot have that level of efficiency.

#8 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-07 08:47 PM | Reply

@#7

Also, this refund fiasco just seems to be yet another self-induced fiasco of Pres Trump.

He seems to have gone forward with no planning. Again.

#9 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-07 08:50 PM | Reply

Is Pres Trump hoping for imaginary castles in the air?

Colourfield - Castles in the Air (1985)
www.youtube.com

#10 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-07 08:53 PM | Reply

First Ferengi Rule of Acquisition: Once you have their money never give it back.

#11 | Posted by randomcanyon at 2026-03-08 04:36 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 4

#11 FF

www.reddit.com

#12 | Posted by Corky at 2026-03-08 04:42 PM | Reply

$10 Billion for seeing his taxes
$10 Billion to the "Bored of Peace"
$40 Billion to Argentina
$75 Billion to ICE Gestapo
$134 Billion stolen in tariffs
$1T in unaccountable Pentagon budget
$2.1T in tax cuts for billionaires
$500 Million in stolen Venezuelan oil
$1 Billion for Qatar Force One

Trump is looting America.

#13 | Posted by ClownShack at 2026-03-08 04:48 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 3

Just more lies from the administration that the judges will not take kindly.

#14 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-03-09 08:01 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1