US repays roughly $100bn in tariffs collected under Trump’s 'liberation day' rule

The Trump administration has now refunded about $100 billion in tariffs collected under President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade regime, according to a court filing reported on August 5. The refunds follow a Supreme Court decision that struck down the duties and forced the government to repay importers. The filing said the government had returned roughly 60% of the $165 billion to $166 billion collected before the ruling. (finance.yahoo.com) Billions more are still owed as U.S. Customs and Border Protection continues processing claims. ### Which tariffs is Washington paying back? (finance.yahoo.com) The Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 ruling in *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump* and related litigation rejected Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad import tariffs. The opinion said lower courts had held that IEEPA did not authorize tariffs “unbounded in scope, amount, and duration,” and the ruling left the government on the hook for duties already collected. Reuters reported that the tariffs had been collected before the Court struck them down, and that the administration disclosed the refund total in a filing to the U.S. (finance.yahoo.com) Court of International Trade. Yahoo Finance, citing customs officials’ report to the court, said the update was filed on Tuesday, August 4. ### How large is the refund bill now? The August 5 Reuters report put refunded amounts at about $100 billion. The same report said total collections under the invalidated tariff program were about $165 billion, while other coverage pegged the total at roughly $166 billion. (supremecourt.gov) Bloomberg reported in May that the administration had begun paying tariff refunds to importers’ bank accounts as part of a $166 billion giveback. Yahoo Finance also reported in April that U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a refund process for more than 330,000 firms that had paid the duties. (finance.yahoo.com) ### Who is getting the money back? U.S. importers are the direct recipients because they were the parties that paid the tariffs at the border. Yahoo Finance reported that major beneficiaries include large importers such as Apple, Amazon and Nike, while consumers who absorbed higher prices are unlikely to receive direct relief. (finance.yahoo.com) The refund structure matters because tariffs are collected from importers first, even when companies later try to pass costs through supply chains. That means the government’s repayment goes to the firms that remitted the duties, not automatically to downstream buyers or households. (sg.finance.yahoo.com) ### Why does this matter beyond trade lawyers? Construction, manufacturing and retail companies had to finance the tariffs while projects and orders were still moving. The court-ordered repayments reverse part of that hit, but only after months of higher cash needs, procurement uncertainty and repricing. (finance.yahoo.com) Reuters did not characterize those effects, but the refund process itself shows how quickly trade policy changes can become a balance-sheet issue for import-heavy businesses. For sectors that buy imported steel, electrical goods, components and equipment, the sequence was costly even before refunds arrived: tariffs were paid upfront, bids and inventories were adjusted, and then the legal basis for the duties was removed. (finance.yahoo.com) The remaining unpaid billions mean that some firms are still waiting for cash to return. ### What happens next in the case? U.S. Customs and Border Protection is still processing outstanding claims, according to the court update reported by Reuters and Yahoo Finance. The Court of International Trade remains the venue where the government has been reporting repayment progress. (finance.yahoo.com) The next milestones are likely to come in additional court filings and customs updates as the remaining share of the $165 billion to $166 billion is repaid. Importers, trade lawyers and the court are now tracking how quickly the government clears the rest of the claims. (finance.yahoo.com)