Court filings: administration refunded roughly $100 billion in tariff payments

President Donald Trump’s administration has refunded about $100 billion in tariff payments collected before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broad set of duties imposed under emergency powers, according to a filing in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The Tuesday filing by U.S. customs officials said the refunds, including duties and interest, had been completed through the end of July and sent to the Treasury Department for disbursement. The amount represents more than half of the roughly $166 billion the government says it collected under the tariff program the court invalidated. Critics, including Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, said the payments are going to importers and intermediaries rather than households. ### Which tariffs were refunded? The Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 20 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, did not authorize the president to impose most of the administration’s widest-ranging tariffs on imported goods, according to the court filing and Reuters reporting carried by NBC News and U.S. News. Those duties had been imposed in 2025 and were widely referred to as “liberation day” tariffs in subsequent coverage. (usnews.com) The U.S. Court of International Trade was later told that “refunds (duties plus interest) of approximately $100 billion” had been completed using the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries Refund component and sent to Treasury for payment, the filing said. Customs officials reported the figure as of July 31. (usnews.com) ### How much money is still in play? CNBC reported that the $100 billion refunded so far equals about 60% of the roughly $166 billion collected under the IEEPA tariffs. The same report said nearly $129 billion in “both potential and certified refunds” had been accepted for processing through the CAPE system. U.S. Customs and Border Protection began using the CAPE system in late April to track and process the repayments. (usnews.com) Brandon Lord, a CBP official, said in the Tuesday filing that the system had received 252,496 refund declarations covering more than 25 million import entries. ### Who is getting the refunds? Rep. Greg Casar said this week that the money was flowing to companies rather than consumers. “Trump is sending the ‘refunds’ to the companies, not working people,” Casar said, according to Reuters reporting published by NBC News and U.S. (cnbc.com) News. “Every single cent of these refunds should go back to American consumers.” The court record and related reports describe the payments as refunds to importers that paid the duties. That has renewed a dispute over who ultimately bore the cost of the tariffs and who should benefit when they are unwound. ### Why are some businesses still fighting in court? Freestyle World, a California-based importer, is seeking to pursue a class action on behalf of smaller businesses that paid the IEEPA tariffs and say they face barriers getting refunds through CAPE, CNBC reported. (usnews.com) The Tuesday filing was submitted as a court-ordered update on the administration’s progress in returning the money. Reuters reported that the broader tariff fight did not end with the Supreme Court ruling. After the Feb. 20 decision, Trump criticized the justices and moved to replace the invalidated duties with new temporary 10% tariffs under another legal authority, then later issued another round of global tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. (cnbc.com) ### What comes next for companies watching tariff costs? Small businesses and 25 states are challenging the newer tariffs in court, according to NBC News’ publication of the Reuters report. That means the legal and cash-flow consequences of the administration’s trade policy are still evolving. As the Court of International Trade case proceeds, customs officials are continuing to process declarations through CAPE and send certified refunds to Treasury for disbursement. (usnews.com) The next milestones are likely to come in further court updates from CBP and in rulings on the separate challenges to the administration’s replacement tariffs. (nbcnews.com)