The U.S. government launched a portal Monday to recoup more than $166 billion in revenue from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump that were invalidated by the Supreme Court.In February, the conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled against a set of tariffs imposed by Trump.
The decision was a stinging rebuke of his flagship economic policy and opened the door to clawbacks.U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has activated the first phase of its processing tool. Importers and customs brokers can now submit documents for refunds. The agency estimated in March that more than 330,000 importers may be eligible for duty refunds on more than 53 million shipments. Approximately $127 billion in fee payments qualified for electronic refunds in this initial rollout.Thousands of companies have filed lawsuits before the International Trade Court since the ruling to demand refunds. Valid refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days after requests are approved, CBP said in a recent notice.The ruling applies to tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has used to target nearly all US trading partners with varying tariff rates since his return to the presidency in January last year.
Sector-specific tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles remain unchanged.The extent to which consumers, who have borne the brunt of the tariffs, will repay depends on whether companies share the refunds. FedEx, for example, said it plans to issue refunds for tariffs paid to “shippers and consumers who originally incurred these fees.”