Coffee importers eye tariff refunds

U.S. coffee importers can now start claiming refunds for Trump-era tariffs after Customs and Border Protection opened its CAPE portal on April 20. (cbp.gov) (dailycoffeenews.com) The refunds stem from the Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 ruling in *Learning Resources v. Trump*, which held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize those tariffs. A later Court of International Trade order told Customs to refund roughly $165 billion to $166 billion in unlawfully collected duties. (skadden.com) (dailycoffeenews.com) For coffee, the eligible window is narrower than “all tariffs.” Daily Coffee News reported green coffee was subject to the IEEPA tariffs from April 5, 2025 through November 12, 2025, before a later executive action exempted coffee. (dailycoffeenews.com) The first wave of claims is also limited by Customs procedure. Phase 1 covers shipments that are still unliquidated and shipments liquidated within the past 80 days, while older finally liquidated entries are excluded for now. (dailycoffeenews.com) (rsmus.com) That matters for coffee roasters because most of them cannot file directly. Customs says only the importer or the customs broker that filed the entries can submit a CAPE declaration, and Royal Coffee told customers refunds go first to the importer of record. (cbp.gov) (royalcoffee.com) In plain terms, the company that brought the green coffee into the United States gets the check first. Whether a roaster sees any of that money depends on its contract with the importer and on how the importer decides to reconcile past sales. (royalcoffee.com) (freshcup.com) Some specialty importers made those promises during the tariff fight. Daily Coffee News reported that smaller green-coffee traders told roasters they would pass refunds through if they were ever reimbursed by the government. (dailycoffeenews.com) Fresh Cup reported that Onyx Coffee, the importer rather than Onyx Coffee Lab, told customers on Instagram that “every cent” of any tariff refund it receives will be passed back. That is one public example, not a universal industry rule. (freshcup.com) The timing is still slow by retail standards. Customs says valid refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days after a CAPE declaration is accepted, and Daily Coffee News said acceptance itself typically takes about 10 days. (cbp.gov) (dailycoffeenews.com) Even if money starts flowing this summer, lower shelf prices are not guaranteed. Fresh Cup said many importers and roasters had already raised prices, absorbed losses, or mixed tariff costs into broader pricing decisions during 2025. (freshcup.com) So the immediate story is not cheaper lattes. It is that coffee importers finally have a live federal process to try to recover tariff cash, with roasters waiting behind them for whatever comes next. (dailycoffeenews.com) (royalcoffee.com)