Tariff Refunds to Roll Out in May

The United States is poised to start reimbursing importers who were hit by President Trump’s tariffs, following a Supreme Court decision that declared those tariffs illegal. According to a court filing in the U.S. Court of International Trade, the first refunds should arrive around May 11.

Background

• The Supreme Court ruled in February that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful.
• The decision created a gap in how affected importers would be compensated, leaving uncertainty that is now being addressed.

Refund Process

• Judge Richard Eaton oversees the refund process.
• Approximately 21 % of entries originally subject to tariffs have been cleared through a new system called CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries).
• Only about 3 % of IEEPA entries have reached the final refund stage, where the Treasury will issue payments.
• As of April 26, roughly 1.74 million entries accepted for removal had entered the refund phase.

Scale of Reimbursement

• The entire process could return $166 billion to more than 330,000 importers who dealt with around 53 million entries.

Political Reactions

• After the 6‑3 decision declaring the tariffs illegal, President Trump called the ruling “terrible” and “totally defective,” then announced a new 10 % global tariff.