The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump‘s emergency tariff regime in February, ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize the duties.
The Court of International Trade then ordered the federal government to build a refund mechanism. On Monday, that mechanism went live.
The cost of those tariffs landed on shoppers. The refund will land on companies.
Only Importers Can File For Tariff Refunds
Under U.S. trade law, only the “importer of record”, the company that filed the customs paperwork and paid CBP, can claim a refund. Consumers have no standing at the portal.
The scale is staggering: CBP court filings show 53 million shipments were assessed IEEPA duties, and the agency estimates up to 4.43 million hours of processing work to clear the backlog.
“Our sense is the majority of the refunds will be retained by the companies getting the refunds,” Steve Wyett, chief investment strategist at BOK Financial Corporation wrote.
“Exceptions might be made if consumers can ‘prove’ they paid a directly attributable tariff charge.”
According to the expert, an estimated $127 billion of the $166 billion collected is realistically refund-eligible.
Because many IEEPA tariffs have already been reimposed under Section 122 and Section 232 authorities, Wyett added, “it seems unlikely consumers will see lower prices from tariff refunds.”
The more likely outcome is a one-time boost to corporate profitability and liquidity.
Yet the consumer paid the tariff.
