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Customs Scraps Paper Refund Checks; U.S. Seizes Two Tankers; CSX Lays Off 166 Managers By Mark R. Long | WSJ Logistics Report

The U.S. government is speeding up its tariff-refund process as importers await a landmark Supreme Court decision on the Trump administration's levies.

The WSJ Logistics Report's Liz Young and Paul Berger write that Customs and Border Protection said it would introduce an all-electronic refund process in February

that would make it quicker and easier to claim back payments, part of a plan across the federal government to eliminate paper payments. The Treasury Department will stop issuing paper checks for refunds as of Feb. 6, except in select cases.

U.S. importers, customs brokers and trade lawyers are waiting for the Supreme Court

to decide on the legality of many of President Trump's tariffs. The justices appeared skeptical

of the tariffs during a hearing in November. A decision striking down the tariffs could pave the way for refunds that could add up to tens of billions of dollars. The Supreme Court is scheduled to meet Friday and has said it might announce opinions on pending cases, raising hopes of a tariff decision.

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Quotable Oil

The U.S. accelerated its campaign against a shadow fleet of tankers that ship Venezuelan oil, with the military forcibly boarding a ship

escorted by the Russian navy

and seizing another tanker near the Caribbean Sea.

The seizures come as President Trump and his advisors plan a sweeping initiative to dominate the Venezuelan oil industry

for years, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump has told aides he believes his efforts could help lower prices to his favored, $50-a-barrel level, the Journal's Brian Schwartz, Benoît Morenne and Josh Dawsey write. A plan under consideration envisions the U.S. exerting some control over Venezuela's state-run oil company PdVSA.

Early Wednesday, a special-operations force boarded the Marinera, a tanker formerly known as the Bella 1. The Coast Guard had pursued the vessel for two weeks on an odyssey that began near Venezuela and ended south of Iceland, U.S. officials said. The vessel-which wasn't carrying any oil-changed its name and claimed Russian protection , and a Russian navy ship and submarine began escorting it. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic near the Caribbean, U.S. forces seized the tanker Sophia, which was trying to evade the U.S. blockade, officials said.

The U.S. will sell blockaded Venezuelan oil

"indefinitely," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. (WSJ)

Railroads

CSX laid off 166 workers in management positions following a review of market conditions and costs. They make up approximately 5% of the freight railroad's more than 3,000 management employees , the Journal's Esther Fung writes.

The Jacksonville, Fla., company, which operates in 23 states east of the Mississippi River, has around 23,000 employees nationwide. Most of them are represented by a rail union and work in the field as train conductors, locomotive engineers, maintenance and signal workers.

Last year, CSX was challenged by an activist investor who said it should pursue a deal with another railroad or replace its CEO, after Union Pacific struck a $71.5 billion deal

to acquire Norfolk Southern. In September, the company named Steve Angel

as its new CEO, replacing Joe Hinrichs.

Railcrew Xpress, which moves railroad crews between sites, is laying off more than 400 workers

in at least six states after it lost a contract with CSX. (Kansas City Business Journal) Number of the Day In Other News Orders from U.S. factories fell 1.3% in October

from September to $604.8 billion, the Commerce Department said. (WSJ) U.S. job openings and hiring declined in November , the Labor Department's monthly job openings and labor turnover survey showed. (WSJ) Businesses added a net 41,000 new employees

last month, after shedding 29,000 on net in November, a report by ADP showed. (WSJ) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit China next week

to normalize ties and reduce Canada's trade reliance on the U.S. (WSJ) Eurozone annual inflation

reached 2% in December. (WSJ) The Trump administration issued new dietary guidelines

for people to avoid highly processed foods, boost protein intake and skip added sugar, presenting a challenge to food makers. (WSJ) BlueScope rejected an $8.8 billion takeover bid

from SGH and Steel Dynamics, saying the offer significantly undervalued the Australian steelmaker. (WSJ) Severe winter weather grounded hundreds of flights and disrupted operations

in Rotterdam, Hamburg and at other key cargo terminals in Northern Europe. (Journal of Commerce) Norwegian energy-services company Aker Solutions plans to cut capacity and more than 500 jobs to prepare for reduced business activity this year. (Renews) PepsiCo has entered a multiyear partnership with Nvidia and Siemens to use AI and "digital twins"

to design, test and expand factories and warehouses. (SupplyChain24/7) Singapore opened the world's tallest vertical farm

as it works to cut its dependence on food imports. (Bloomberg) The U.S. Postal Service will phase out the use of contracted, third-party, non-domiciled CDL drivers that haven't been approved by its inspection service. (Transport Topics) About Us

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at [mark.long@wsj.com]. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long , Liz Young and Paul Berger .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 08, 2026 07:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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