Carriers to return tariff fees to customers as government starts refunds

FedEx and United Parcel Service said Tuesday they will pass tariff refunds back to customers as the federal government starts repaying invalidated import duties. (usnews.com) The refunds stem from a February Supreme Court ruling that struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the emergency-powers law the Trump administration used for broad import levies. About $166 billion in U.S. tariff collections could be subject to refunds. (usnews.com) (time.com) U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened its CAPE refund portal on April 20 and is handling claims in phases. Phase One covers certain unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within the past 80 days. (ups.com) (time.com) UPS Chief Executive Carol Tomé said on an earnings call that UPS had collected about $5 billion in tariffs from customers. She said the company is working with Customs and Border Protection for refunds and will remit the money back to customers after Treasury pays UPS. (usnews.com) UPS says customers do not need to contact the company for shipments where UPS was the importer of record. The carrier says Customs and Border Protection expects refunds to take at least 60 to 90 days to reach importers of record. (ups.com) FedEx told Reuters and CNBC it has already started filing claims with Customs and Border Protection. FedEx said it will issue refunds to shippers and consumers who paid those charges once the government sends money back. (usnews.com) (cnbc.com) DHL Express has made the same pledge for eligible entries in the first phase. Supply Chain Dive reported that more than 55,000 parties submitted claims covering more than 4 million imports on the first day of the refund system’s launch, citing a Customs official. (supplychaindive.com) The relief is narrow. CNBC reported the process applies only to tariffs collected under the invalidated emergency-powers program, while other tariffs under Section 232 and Section 301 remain in place. (cnbc.com) That distinction matters for small importers that already absorbed months of higher costs. CalMatters reported that California business owners said tariffs tied up cash that could have gone to payroll or expansion, while war pushed up fuel and shipping prices. (calmatters.org) One California company told CalMatters that a manufacturing partner in India saw raw-material costs jump about 25%. The same report said businesses are still bracing for higher consumer prices, including grocery costs, even as some past tariff payments are refunded. (calmatters.org) So the money now moving through the refund portal is backward-looking relief, not a reset of trade costs. Customers who paid invalidated duties may get checks back, but the broader tariff bill has not disappeared. (cnbc.com) (calmatters.org)