A US judge warned that the Justice Department's appeal could disrupt Trump's tariff refund process.

According to Mars Finance, on June 5th, a federal trade judge made a rare public statement regarding the Trump administration's appeal against its tariff refund order, escalating the legal battle between the two sides over the authority to issue refunds. U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton responded directly to the Justice Department's appeal in an open letter on Wednesday, questioning the government's legal position and warning that intervention by the appeals court could impact the online application system that has already processed at least $85 billion in refunds. The Justice Department subsequently responded that day, stating that it established the online refund system "in its own authority," attempting to distance itself from Judge Eaton's tariff refund ruling. The core argument of the Justice Department's formal appeal this week is that CBP has no legal right to reopen "finally cleared" import declarations, and Eaton has no right to issue refund orders to importers who did not independently file lawsuits in the trade court. The outcome of this case directly affects whether approximately 330,000 importers who paid disputed tariffs can successfully receive refunds, with particular attention focused on the application obstacles faced by small and medium-sized enterprises.