Trump customs official hauled to court over suspicion of botched tariff refunds: report

Rodney S. Scott, the head of President Donald Trump's Customs and Border Protection, is being ordered to a federal court hearing next month to answer for whether the administration is complying with court orders to issue refunds for the president's tariff scheme.

According to The New York Times, "The unexpected demand, issued on Wednesday, hinted at a judge’s ongoing concern that the government has not fully complied with a directive to return all of the money amassed under duties that were declared illegal by the Supreme Court earlier this year."

Trump had set up a system of "reciprocal tariffs" under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a controversial decision since that law doesn't even mention tariffs in its statute. Since the tariffs were struck down, he has tried to set up a 10 percent global tariff scheme under another law, but this too faces intense legal scrutiny.

"Within days of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Court of International Trade took the first, formal steps to compel the administration to begin the refund process. While Mr. Trump publicly opposed returning the money, his administration still worked to set up a system to do so. It officially began accepting importers’ requests for repayment in late April," said the report. However, "The government said in a court filing in April that it could process refunds for only about $127 billion out of the approximately $166 billion collected."

"The lack of clarity prompted Richard K. Eaton, a judge on the trade court, on Wednesday to order a hearing for June, at which he directed Mr. Scott to 'appear to answer the court’s questions as to the anticipated timing of Customs’ compliance with the court’s order,'" said the report. "In a separate filing, the judge also cited concern about 'millions' of entries for which the government has 'not presented a proposal' for providing refunds."

Trump's tariff policy has been broadly rejected by the public as voters grow restless over rising costs. Even some Republican officials are trying to distance themselves from the impact of the policy.