Kamal Ghorui
The US government launched a portal Monday to refund more than $166 billion in revenue from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and struck down by the Supreme Court.In February, the conservative-majority high court ruled against a swath of Trump’s tariffs. The decision marked a stinging rebuke of his key economic policy and opened the door to refunds.US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activated the first phase of its processing tool. Importers and customs brokers can now submit documentation to recover payments. The agency estimated in March that more than 330,000 importers could be eligible for refunds on duties from over 53 million shipments. Around $127 billion in duty payments qualify for electronic refunds in this initial deployment.Thousands of companies have filed lawsuits with the Court of International Trade since the ruling to seek refunds. Valid refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days after applications are approved, CBP said in a recent notice.The ruling applies to duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump used to target virtually all US trading partners with varying tariff rates since returning to the presidency in January last year. His sector-specific tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos remain intact.The extent to which consumers, who bore the brunt of the tariffs, will be repaid depends on whether companies share the recovered funds. FedEx, for example, said it plans to issue refunds for tariffs paid to “shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges.”
