politics
U.S. to Issue Up to $166 Billion in Tariff Refunds After Supreme Court Ruling
Federal officials launched a new claims system in late April to process refunds for tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Supreme Court ruled in February that the Trump administration exceeded its authority under the 1977 law. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has calculated $35.46 billion in finalized refunds and interest as of May 11.
May 13, 10:28 AM·2m read3 sources
realitytea.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
U.S. companies that paid now-invalid Trump administration tariffs could begin receiving billions of dollars in refunds this week as federal officials roll out a new claims system. The refunds stem from tariffs President Donald Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The Supreme Court ruled in February that the Trump administration exceeded its authority under the 1977 IEEPA law. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is using a newly developed system called the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) to manage the billions in potential tariff refunds.
CAPE was created to streamline refund requests for IEEPA duties that courts determined should be repaid. Rather than processing refunds on a shipment-by-shipment basis, CAPE consolidates eligible tariff refunds, including interest, into a single payment for each importer. CBP launched Phase 1 of the CAPE system on April 20.
The refund process started in late April. The initial rollout of CAPE Phase 1 applies only to some shipments still being finalized or recently processed, with the first phase of the process limited to shipments that were liquidated or finalized within the past 80 days, although some unliquidated shipments are also being processed. 3 million shipments.
Overall, as much as $166 billion in tariff collections could eventually be refunded. The government must return about $160 billion, plus interest, collected from duties deemed illegal. It is estimated that roughly 330,000 importers paid more than $166bn in tariff fees imposed by Trump under IEEPA.
Only the importers listed on the shipments and the brokers acting on their behalf can submit CAPE refund declarations. The government is requiring that the original customs broker – the importer of record – must be the one to apply for the refund. Importers or brokers must upload a Consolidated Administration and Processing for Entries Declaration digital file listing the entries eligible for refunds.
