U.S. to Issue Up to $166 Billion in Refunds for Tariffs Struck Down by Supreme Court

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. 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.

Once applications from companies are validated, CBP updates its records, removes the since-overturned tariff provisions and recalculates duties before issuing refunds. CBP said valid refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days after a declaration is accepted. More complex cases could take longer than 60 to 90 days.

Companies expected to receive reimbursements include Home Depot, Nike, Target and Walmart. FedEx, UPS, and DHL have pledged to return tariff refunds to customers. Consumers who paid higher prices tied to tariffs are not eligible for direct government refunds.

Melissa Alvarado Quisenberry is a vice-president at Michigan-based Supply Chain Solutions. Quisenberry’s company has been busy filing refund claims for many of her clients.

“Quisenberry says she is telling her clients to expect 60 to 90 days for refunds." — Melissa Alvarado Quisenberry Tariff refunds made in 2026 will be taxable. Quisenberry acknowledged that being forced to use the original customs broker can create problems if a business is unhappy with that firm. Some glitches have been reported in the system, but the process appears more organized than many expected.”