US judge and lawyers to discuss how to refund $175bn in illegal Trump tariffs

Richard Eaton, who said this week that importers must be paid back, reportedly meeting customs agency lawyers

A US judge will reportedly meet government lawyers to agree how to refund up to $175bn in tariffs that were collected illegally from more than 300,000 importers.

Judge Richard Eaton of the US court of international trade would hear from lawyers for the customs agency responsible for the repayments on Friday, Reuters reported. The supreme court decided last month that a 1977 law designed to address national emergencies did not provide the legal justification for most of the Trump administration's global tariffs.