UPS begins issuing tariff refunds on shipments eligible under Supreme Court ruling
What happened
- UPS began issuing refunds on eligible tariff-hit shipments on May 27, moving the post-Supreme Court rollback of Donald Trump’s 2025 tariffs into payment. - Court filings said Customs and Border Protection certified $20.6 billion in refunds, then disclosed an overstatement of at least $10 billion. - Cardinal Health, FedEx and other importers are expected to keep pressing claims through CBP’s ACE portal as additional refund phases open.
Why it matters
UPS has started issuing refunds on shipments eligible under the Supreme Court decision that struck down Donald Trump’s 2025 tariffs, one of the clearest signs yet that the dispute has moved from litigation to cash payments. UPS spokesperson Natasha Amadi said the company is processing refunds for eligible shipments where it served as importer and would expand that work as U.S. Customs and Border Protection opens later phases. CBP has told importers approved refunds are being paid electronically through its portal system, with some payments expected to take 60 to 90 days. The payments follow a February Supreme Court ruling that found the 2025 tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unlawful. ### Why are UPS refunds a notable milestone in this case? UPS matters because it sits between customs administration and thousands of shippers that used the company as broker or importer of record. In a public guidance page, UPS said CBP is accepting eligible refund claims through CAPE in the ACE portal and that approved refunds are paid by ACH. Amadi said UPS is processing refunds now for covered shipments and will widen the effort as CBP adds more entries. (newsweek.com) FedEx and other logistics groups had already said they would pass through refunds tied to unlawful tariffs, but the latest disclosures show the process is no longer hypothetical. USA Today and other outlets reported in April that UPS and FedEx planned to return tariff refunds to customers after the court loss. ### How large is the refund pool becoming? (ups.com) CBP told a court on Tuesday that it had certified $20.6 billion in tariff refunds for importers using the new claims portal, according to reports on the filing. The same filing later showed the agency had overstated that figure by at least $10 billion, according to accounts of the declaration published Wednesday. The error underscored how large and administratively difficult the repayment process has become for the government. (usatoday.com) Court records cited by multiple outlets say roughly 330,000 importers paid more than $166 billion in tariff fees under the now-invalid measures. That gives the dispute a scale far beyond a handful of test cases and explains why companies, customs brokers and trade lawyers have been tracking each phase of the refund system closely. (msn.com) ### Which companies have put numbers on their exposure? Cardinal Health is among the companies that have disclosed potential claims tied to the tariffs, according to reporting on company filings and investor disclosures. Bloomberg Law reported that household-name importers including FedEx, Costco, L’Oreal and EssilorLuxottica were among companies pursuing relief after the Supreme Court ruling, amid more than 100 new lawsuits filed in the days that followed. (thehill.com) Politico reported earlier this month that many companies were pursuing refunds with limited public comment after Trump said he would “remember” firms that did not forgo claims. That political pressure has run alongside the accounting question facing importers: whether to book expected repayments now or wait until CBP finalizes a claim. (news.bloomberglaw.com) ### Why does Mexico appear in a story about U.S. refunds? Mexico’s export gains are being tested by the same tariff instability that produced the refund fight. Transport Topics, citing Bloomberg reporting, said U.S. tariffs and supply-chain disruption are eroding Mexico’s position as a manufacturing hub and raising the risk that it falls back toward lower-value exports. That matters because Mexico had been one of the clearest beneficiaries of North American nearshoring before the 2025 tariff wave. (politico.com) A separate Baker Institute brief said trade uncertainty tied to U.S. tariff actions was already weighing on Mexico’s investment outlook ahead of the 2026 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The refund process does not change that uncertainty on its own, but it places a price tag on how much importers paid under the invalidated policy. (ttnews.com) ### What happens next for importers and the government? CBP’s next steps are laid out in the claims machinery rather than in a new court hearing. UPS said Phase 1 applies only to a limited subset of entries, and the company told customers it will expand refund work as CBP launches future phases. Importers seeking repayment must keep filing through ACE and CAPE while brokers and carriers reconcile which party served as importer of record on each shipment. (bakerinstitute.org) The next concrete milestones are additional CBP refund phases and further court updates on the agency’s accounting. As those filings arrive, companies including UPS, FedEx and Cardinal Health are likely to provide the clearest public evidence of how much money is actually moving back to importers. (ups.com)
Key numbers
- UPS began issuing refunds on eligible tariff-hit shipments on May 27, moving the post-Supreme Court rollback of Donald Trump’s 2025 tariffs into payment.
- Court filings said Customs and Border Protection certified $20.6 billion in refunds, then disclosed an overstatement of at least $10 billion.
- UPS has started issuing refunds on shipments eligible under the Supreme Court decision that struck down Donald Trump’s 2025 tariffs, one of the clearest signs yet that the dispute has moved from litigation to cash payments.
- CBP has told importers approved refunds are being paid electronically through its portal system, with some payments expected to take 60 to 90 days.
What happens next
- UPS spokesperson Natasha Amadi said the company is processing refunds for eligible shipments where it served as importer and would expand that work as U.S.
- CBP has told importers approved refunds are being paid electronically through its portal system, with some payments expected to take 60 to 90 days.
- Amadi said UPS is processing refunds now for covered shipments and will widen the effort as CBP adds more entries.
Quick answers
What happened in UPS begins issuing tariff refunds on shipments eligible under Supreme Court ruling?
UPS began issuing refunds on eligible tariff-hit shipments on May 27, moving the post-Supreme Court rollback of Donald Trump’s 2025 tariffs into payment. Court filings said Customs and Border Protection certified $20.6 billion in refunds, then disclosed an overstatement of at least $10 billion. Cardinal Health, FedEx and other importers are expected to keep pressing claims through CBP’s ACE portal as additional refund phases open.
Why does UPS begins issuing tariff refunds on shipments eligible under Supreme Court ruling matter?
UPS has started issuing refunds on shipments eligible under the Supreme Court decision that struck down Donald Trump’s 2025 tariffs, one of the clearest signs yet that the dispute has moved from litigation to cash payments. UPS spokesperson Natasha Amadi said the company is processing refunds for eligible shipments where it served as importer and would expand that work as U.S. Customs and Border Protection opens later phases. CBP has told importers approved refunds are being paid electronically through its portal system, with some payments expected to take 60 to 90 days. The payments follow a February Supreme Court ruling that found the 2025 tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unlawful. Why are UPS refunds a notable milestone in this case? UPS matters because it sits between customs administration and thousands of shippers that used the company as broker or importer of record. In a public guidance page, UPS said CBP is accepting eligible refund claims through CAPE in the ACE portal and that approved refunds are paid by ACH. Amadi said UPS is processing refunds now for covered shipments and will widen the effort as CBP adds more entries. (newsweek.com) FedEx and other logistics groups had already said they would pass through refunds tied to unlawful tariffs, but the latest disclosures show the process is no longer hypothetical. USA Today and other outlets reported in April that UPS and FedEx planned to return tariff refunds to customers after the court loss. How large is the refund pool becoming? (ups.com) CBP told a court on Tuesday that it had certified $20.6 billion in tariff refunds for importers using the new claims portal, according to reports on the filing. The same filing later showed the agency had overstated that figure by at least $10 billion, according to accounts of the declaration published Wednesday. The error underscored how large and administratively difficult the repayment process has become for the government. (usatoday.com) Court records cited by multiple outlets say roughly 330,000 importers paid more than $166 billion in tariff fees under the now-invalid measures. That gives the dispute a scale far beyond a handful of test cases and explains why companies, customs brokers and trade lawyers have been tracking each phase of the refund system closely. (msn.com) Which companies have put numbers on their exposure? Cardinal Health is among the companies that have disclosed potential claims tied to the tariffs, according to reporting on company filings and investor disclosures. Bloomberg Law reported that household-name importers including FedEx, Costco, L’Oreal and EssilorLuxottica were among companies pursuing relief after the Supreme Court ruling, amid more than 100 new lawsuits filed in the days that followed. (thehill.com) Politico reported earlier this month that many companies were pursuing refunds with limited public comment after Trump said he would “remember” firms that did not forgo claims. That political pressure has run alongside the accounting question facing importers: whether to book expected repayments now or wait until CBP finalizes a claim. (news.bloomberglaw.com) Why does Mexico appear in a story about U.S. refunds? Mexico’s export gains are being tested by the same tariff instability that produced the refund fight. Transport Topics, citing Bloomberg reporting, said U.S. tariffs and supply-chain disruption are eroding Mexico’s position as a manufacturing hub and raising the risk that it falls back toward lower-value exports. That matters because Mexico had been one of the clearest beneficiaries of North American nearshoring before the 2025 tariff wave. (politico.com) A separate Baker Institute brief said trade uncertainty tied to U.S. tariff actions was already weighing on Mexico’s investment outlook ahead of the 2026 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The refund process does not change that uncertainty on its own, but it places a price tag on how much importers paid under the invalidated policy. (ttnews.com) What happens next for importers and the government? CBP’s next steps are laid out in the claims machinery rather than in a new court hearing. UPS said Phase 1 applies only to a limited subset of entries, and the company told customers it will expand refund work as CBP launches future phases. Importers seeking repayment must keep filing through ACE and CAPE while brokers and carriers reconcile which party served as importer of record on each shipment. (bakerinstitute.org) The next concrete milestones are additional CBP refund phases and further court updates on the agency’s accounting. As those filings arrive, companies including UPS, FedEx and Cardinal Health are likely to provide the clearest public evidence of how much money is actually moving back to importers. (ups.com)
