Trump administration refunded $100B

The Trump administration said on August 5 that it had refunded about $100 billion of tariff revenue collected before the Supreme Court struck down a broad set of 2025 import duties. A filing in the U.S. Court of International Trade said the payments account for about 60% of the roughly $166 billion the government collected under tariffs imposed through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. CNBC, NBC News and Reuters, via U.S. News, all reported the figure from the court filing. ### Where did the $100 billion number come from? The U.S. Court of International Trade filing reported that Customs and Border Protection had returned about $100 billion by the end of July, according to CNBC and ABC News. Those refunds relate to tariff collections made before the Supreme Court invalidated the earlier duties, which had been imposed under IEEPA in 2025. (cnbc.com) Reuters, as carried by U.S. News, said the Supreme Court had struck down those duties before the administration began issuing refunds. Al Jazeera reported that the government had collected about $166 billion before the ruling and had designated a large share of those funds for potential and certified refunds. (cnbc.com) ### Why are states back in court if refunds are already going out? North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said on August 4 that his office had joined a second lawsuit over a new round of Trump tariffs. Jackson said the federal government had placed 10% to 12.5% tariffs on dozens of countries and the European Union in July, and he called them unlawful in a statement from his office. (usnews.com) Twenty-five states sued over those new tariffs, arguing they were a “pretext” to replace the import taxes the Supreme Court had struck down in February, according to AP coverage carried by Yahoo and local New York television outlets. New York was among the states leading that challenge. ### Who gets the money back, and what is still disputed? (ncdoj.gov) Thousands of U.S. businesses that paid the tariffs are in line for refunds, ABC News reported. NBC News said the duties are still being challenged in court not only by states but also by small businesses. Fortune, cited in the source briefing, reported that some consumers have also sued companies over whether tariff refunds were passed through to buyers, while Amazon said reimbursements would occur only in a limited set of circumstances. (yahoo.com) That dispute is separate from the government’s refund process and centers on whether companies kept savings tied to now-invalid tariffs. (abcnews.com) ### Why are companies talking about accounting and earnings? Nintendo said on August 6 that quarterly profit rose 53.5% to 147.4 billion yen, and The Guardian reported that the increase was fueled largely by a U.S. tariff refund. Nintendo’s own financial highlights show the quarterly profit figure, while The Guardian linked the jump to the reimbursement. (abcnews.com) The broader accounting issues described in coverage include refund receivables, inventory costing and disclosure decisions for importers and retailers. Those questions have surfaced because companies first paid the tariffs, then had to assess whether to book expected recoveries and how to reflect them once cash arrived. (nintendo.co.jp) ### What happens next in the tariff fight? The August 4 lawsuit by 25 states is now the next major legal front, with North Carolina, New York and other Democratic-led states challenging the replacement tariffs in federal court. At the same time, the government’s refund process is continuing as more of the roughly $166 billion is processed through Customs and Border Protection, according to the court filing reported on August 5. (theguardian.com) (ncdoj.gov)