A federal judge has ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to process refunds for tariffs that were determined to be illegal during the Trump administration.

The court ruling requires the customs agency to move forward with processing refund claims for businesses and importers who paid the contested tariffs. The specific tariffs involved in the case were previously determined by the court to have been improperly imposed.

The decision comes as part of ongoing litigation challenging various trade measures implemented between 2017 and 2021. Multiple companies and trade groups have filed lawsuits seeking recovery of tariff payments they argue were collected without proper legal authority.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection had been withholding processing of refund requests pending the outcome of legal challenges. The judge's order now compels the agency to begin administrative procedures for returning the collected duties.

The ruling could potentially affect thousands of importers who paid the disputed tariffs on various goods. The total amount of potential refunds has not been disclosed, though trade attorneys suggest the figure could reach into the billions of dollars.

Neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection nor the Department of Justice immediately responded to requests for comment on the court's decision or the timeline for processing refunds.