Troubled by the Trump tariff war for nearly a year, it finally ended with a refund of 166 billion dollars.

On Wednesday (March 4), U.S. International Trade Court Judge Richard Eaton issued a strong order: "Every penny must be refunded," and it also required the refund with interest.

According to documents submitted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the court on Friday, the current estimated amount involved in the refund is about 166 billion U.S. dollars (previously estimated between 130 billion and 175 billion).

It involves approximately 330,000 importers, involving more than 53 million customs declarations. It includes giants such as Nintendo, Costco, FedEx, and tens of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Customs officials Brandon Lord said on Friday that due to the need for 400,000 working hours to manually process 5.3 million orders, they are developing an automated refund system, which is expected to go live within 45 days.

Previously, companies needed to sue the government individually to get their money back, but the latest plan is: companies just need to submit a statement through the Customs' ACE system, and after verification, the Treasury Department will issue a refund (including interest) uniformly.

The court has suspended part of the mandatory immediate enforcement order, and instead promoted mediation meetings, with government lawyers and judges negotiating a comprehensive refund plan.

Trump administration's stance: The Treasury Secretary and others hinted that the refund would not be quick, possibly facing a long legal battle, or even delay or partial deduction; Trump himself said "this will take several years of lawsuits."

This 166 billion dollars is equivalent to a huge "targeted rate cut" for U.S. importers and retailers, greatly alleviating the financial pressure on businesses.

The refund of tariffs means a reduction in import costs, which provides space for consumer price cuts, a major boon for cooling inflation.

Although the court ruled against the Trump administration, Trump also publicly stated on Friday that these funds being returned to U.S. businesses "is good for the economy."

This actually became an "economic buffer" for him to ease current market panic and hedge against the situation in the Middle East.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859002746558468/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.