Businesses big and small have started receiving tariff refunds after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump lacked the constitutional authority to impose higher import taxes on goods from nearly every other country.

The process could grind to a halt, however, after the Trump administration said Friday that it intended to appeal a federal judge’s order to allow all companies that paid the invalidated duties to seek refunds, not just the ones that filed lawsuits.

Until the Department of Justice informed the judge of its planned appeal, the refund system overseen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection had been working fairly smoothly. Refunds reached the bank accounts of the first successful applicants on May 12, about three weeks after importers and their customs brokers could start submitting claims through an online system, according to CBP.

Applications for refunds totaling $85 billion — more than half of the $166 billion the agency estimated the government owes to companies that paid the tariffs on imported goods — were accepted for processing as of May 22, CBP reported in a legal filing earlier in the week. It said it had so far directed the Treasury Department to issue $20.6 billion in refunds.

The administration revealed its appeal preparations while objecting to a demand by Judge Richard K. Eaton for CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear in the U.S. Court of International Trade to answer questions about how long it would take to repay all 330,000 importers that might be eligible for refunds. The judge scheduled a June 9 hearing on why he shouldn’t require the government do whatever it takes to speed up the process.

Diplomacy

U.S., Cuban military leaders meet

A senior U.S. military officer met with Cuban counterparts at the perimeter of Guantánamo Bay Naval Station on Friday, the highest-level military engagement since the Trump administration began ratcheting up pressure on the Cuban government this year.

According to a description of the meeting posted by U.S. Southern Command, the officers had a “brief exchange” on security matters regarding the Guantánamo base, which continues to hold 15 prisoners from the war against terrorism.

Cuba’s government said the meeting was “positive.” The military officials discussed security around the base’s perimeter, and they agreed to maintain communication between both military commands, Cuban authorities said in a statement.

The symbolic importance of the meeting goes beyond what Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the leader of Southern Command, discussed with the senior Cuban military official, Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, and other Cuban officials.

Virginia

Deputy fatally shot at welfare check

A sheriff’s deputy in Virginia died Friday after a man shot at deputies who were conducting a welfare check, law enforcement officials said.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said the fatal shooting occurred after law enforcement received a request from a family member to do a welfare check.

A man at the home opened fire on deputies who returned fire, the sheriff’s office said. Both deputies were hit by gunfire.

A search was underway for the suspect. Law enforcement officials said he should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Officials did not identify the officer who was killed.

Afghanistan

22 killed in refugee truck crash

A truck carrying Afghan refugees returning from neighboring Pakistan overturned on a highway in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 22 people and injuring about 36 others, most of them women and children, officials said.

The accident occurred in Laghman province on the main highway linking Kabul, the Afghan capital, with Nangarhar province, said Abdul Malik Niazai, the spokesperson for the provincial governor.

He said among the dead were 10 children and five women, and the injured were taken to hospitals in Nangarhar.

PACIFIC OCEAN

Subsea military drone pact approved

The Aukus alliance members — Australia, U.K. and the U.S. — announced Saturday that they will develop advanced underwater drone systems and further deepen their maritime relationship that will see American submarines in Australia by next year.

The agreements, announced in Singapore by the countries’ defense ministers, include investing in the development of systems and weapons for uncrewed undersea vehicles.

The initiative “will deliver a suite of highly adaptable multi-mission UUV payloads designed to support undersea operations and maintain our collective advantage in the maritime domain,” said U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

He didn’t detail the systems, which are generically termed “payload and effectors.”

Caribbean

U.S. sends envoy to DR., Haiti

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau was scheduled to meet with officials in the Dominican Republic on Saturday as part of an official two-day trip that included a stop in neighboring Haiti.

The talks are focused on mutual economic commercial interests and regional priorities including security, according to a U.S. government statement.

The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, has become a key ally of the U.S. government.

President Luis Abinader said last November that he would allow the U.S. to operate inside restricted areas in the Caribbean country to help in its fight against drug trafficking.

Landau met on Friday with Haiti’s Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, as well as national police officials and a U.N.-backed gang suppression force.

—From news services