$166bn tariff refunds
The U.S. will open a refund system on April 20 for importers seeking repayment of roughly $166 billion in tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down. (reuters.com) Customs and Border Protection says the first phase will run through its customs portal, even as some sectoral tariffs remain in force and the administration tweaked metal tariffs to limit spillovers for industries like automaking. (reuters.com) (digitaldealer.com)
U.S. importers will be able to start filing for tariff refunds on April 20 through a new Customs system, after the Supreme Court threw out the duties in February. (usnews.com 1) (usnews.com 2) The tariffs at issue were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law the Trump administration used for broad import duties. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the law did not authorize those tariffs. (usnews.com) (scotusblog.com) U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the first phase will run through its Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries tool, or CAPE, inside the Automated Commercial Environment portal that importers and brokers already use. The agency said claims can begin on Monday, April 20, 2026. (nortonrosefulbright.com) (bloomberg.com) The first phase is limited to relatively straightforward cases: most entries that are still unliquidated or are within 80 days after liquidation, plus some suspended, extended, reviewed, warehouse, and warehouse-withdrawal entries. Customs said more complex claims will be pushed to later phases. (nortonrosefulbright.com) (bloomberg.com) That leaves out several categories for now, including reconciliation entries, drawback claims, open protests, entries not filed in the Automated Commercial Environment, some antidumping and countervailing duty cases, and entries whose liquidation is already final. Refunds that do go through CAPE will be paid electronically through Automated Clearing House transfers to bank accounts on file with Customs. (nortonrosefulbright.com) The refund push widened on March 4, when Judge Richard Eaton of the Court of International Trade ordered Customs to issue refunds for unlawful International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs to all importers, not just the companies that sued. That order covered unliquidated entries and liquidated entries that were not yet final. (hklaw.com) (conventuslaw.com) The dollar figure is huge because the struck-down tariffs were collected across a wide range of imports before the court ruling. Reuters reported the refund pool at about $166 billion, while other summaries of the first electronic phase have described a smaller initial tranche moving through the portal first. (usnews.com) (finance.yahoo.com) The refund system does not erase every tariff now hitting manufacturers. Separate sector tariffs, including the 25 percent duty on imported cars that took effect on April 3, 2025, are still reshaping production plans and sticker prices across the auto industry. (digitaldealer.com) Digital Dealer reported that auto tariffs added $30 billion in costs to the industry in 2025 and pushed average vehicle suggested retail prices up 10.4 percent, citing Kelley Blue Book. It said imported vehicles saw increases of roughly $5,000 to $8,900, while domestic vehicles rose by about $1,600 to $2,000 because steel and aluminum costs also climbed. (digitaldealer.com) So April 20 is the start of a claims process, not the end of the tariff fight. Importers with eligible entries can begin filing next week, while companies still paying other tariffs wait for later CAPE phases, court deadlines, and any new trade moves from Washington. (nortonrosefulbright.com) (usnews.com)
