A judge with the U.S. Court of International Trade on March 4 ordered refunds for companies that paid tariffs later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The court last month ruled it was not legal for President Donald Trump to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, better known as IEEPA, for his “Liberation Day” tariffs.

The Supreme Court ruling did not say whether there should be refunds, leaving companies that paid the duties to sue the federal government.

In the trade court decision, Judge Richard Eaton said that all importers who paid IEEPA duties are “entitled to the benefit” of the Supreme Court’s decision.

Eaton was ruling specifically on a case brought by Atmus Filtration, a filtration company in Tennessee, but said he will be the only judge to hear cases about refunds.

The Liberty Justice Center, which represented five American small businesses that pushed back on Trump’s tariffs, said the decision made it clear that all importers of record hit by IEEPA duties are entitled to refunds.

“This decision is an important step toward ensuring that businesses can recover the money they were forced to pay under tariffs the Supreme Court has now confirmed were imposed without legal authority,” the center said in a statement on social media.

– The Canadian Press contributed to this article.