Tariffs complicate procurement
- The U.S. tariff‑refund process has begun, but refunds may not translate into lower customer prices or immediate relief. - 82% of small businesses are passing tariff costs to customers, and one in three have changed suppliers to cope. - Tariff uncertainty turns procurement into a scheduling risk that needs customs timing and shipment milestones on the schedule. ( )
The U.S. has started refunding some tariffs, but many businesses still face the harder problem: buying inventory while customs rules, timing and prices keep shifting. (cbp.gov) U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched the first phase of its new CAPE refund system on April 20, 2026. Phase 1 covers certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation, and filings go through the ACE Secure Data Portal. (cbp.gov) CBP says approved claims will be paid electronically after acceptance, and trade lawyers say the expected timeline is 60 to 90 days if there are no compliance issues. CAPE accepts declarations in CSV files, with a limit of 9,999 entries per filing. (cbp.gov, hoganlovells.com) That timetable does not erase the costs already built into store shelves. NPR reported on April 22 that shipping companies including UPS, FedEx and DHL have said they will pass refunds back to customers who directly paid tariff fees, but retailers that raised prices earlier are under no similar requirement. (wskg.org, cbsnews.com) Small businesses say they have already changed how they buy. Netstock said in a report released April 22 that 82% of small and midsize businesses are now passing tariff costs to customers, 92% of that group are doing it through direct price increases, and one in three have changed suppliers. (markets.businessinsider.com) The same report said 44% of those businesses had previously tried to absorb tariff costs themselves to avoid stock-outs and keep customers. That approach, Netstock said, has largely run out. (markets.businessinsider.com) The refund fight grew out of a court loss for the government. Skadden said the Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, in *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump* that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize the tariffs, and the Court of International Trade then ordered refunds of about $165 billion in collected duties. (skadden.com) Skadden said more than 330,000 importers paid those duties across more than 53 million entries. It also said a government appeal could still slow when money actually reaches companies. (skadden.com) For procurement teams, that means tariffs now behave less like a single tax bill and more like a scheduling problem. Orders, customs entry status, liquidation dates, broker filings, bank setup and shipment milestones all affect when — or whether — cash comes back. (cbp.gov, hoganlovells.com, skadden.com) So even with the portal live, the practical question for many importers is not whether a refund exists on paper. It is whether the goods arriving next month can be priced, cleared and stocked before the next rule change lands. (cbp.gov, markets.businessinsider.com)
