Trump administration begins $166bn tariffs refund
The Trump administration has launched a platform to process US$166 billion worth of refunds on tariffs the US Supreme Court ruled unlawful in February.
In March, the US Court of International Trade ordered customs officials to refund more than US$160 billion collected by the US government.
The US Court of International Trade ordered Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds for tariffs US president Donald Trump introduced in 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Yesterday (Monday 20 April), the US Customs and Border Protection started the refund process on IEEPA tariffs with the launch of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (Cape) platform.
Importers and customs brokers can submit refund requests through the Cape platform, which will process refunds as one lump sum.
Successful applications will be reimbursed in 60 to 90 days once approved.
However, it remains unclear if individual consumers who were also hit by tariffs indirectly through higher prices will be compensated.
A coalition of small business, called We Pay the Tariffs, posted on LinkedIn: “Today [20 April] marks a major moment: the federal government has opened the tariff refund portal, beginning the process of returning US$166 billion in duties that were ruled unlawful earlier this year.”
The post continued: “The fight for fair, predictable trade policy is far from over, and we need to ensure that small businesses won’t just be steamrolled and loopholed into new unfair tariffs that replace the old.”
In February this year, data showed tariffs pulled down Scotch whisky exports to the US by 15% in 2025.
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