US to open $166bn tariff‑refund claims
The U.S. is due to open a federal claims system on Monday for companies seeking refunds on as much as $166 billion in tariffs that were deemed illegally collected. At the same time Washington’s tariff posture remains aggressive — some imports face a 25% levy and investigations into pharmaceutical duties continue — and big firms are already rerouting logistics, with Amazon deepening Shenzhen warehousing to cut costs and delays. (insurancejournal.com) (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) (scmp.com)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is set to open an online claims portal on Monday, April 20, for companies seeking refunds on tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February. (usatoday.com) (supremecourt.gov) The portal is called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, and CBP told a federal court this week that the first phase is complete. Reuters reported businesses could seek back as much as $166 billion in duties once filing opens. (time.com) (nbcnews.com) (usnews.com) The legal trigger was the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling on February 20, 2026, in *Learning Resources v. Trump*, which held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize presidents to impose tariffs. The decision invalidated Trump tariffs tied to emergency orders on countries including China, Mexico and Canada, plus broader “reciprocal” duties. (supremecourt.gov) (scotusblog.com) (dlapiper.com) The refunds are arriving while Washington still has other tariffs in force. A House of Commons Library briefing published April 14 said a 25% U.S. tariff on steel, aluminium and derivative goods imposed on March 12, 2025 was raised to 50% on June 4, 2025, and a 10% tariff still applies to most other UK goods entering the U.S. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) That same briefing said pharmaceuticals can now enter the U.S. tariff-free under the U.K.-U.S. Economic Prosperity Deal, while other sectors still face uncertainty after the February court ruling. The mix of court-ordered refunds and still-active trade barriers has left importers recalculating costs shipment by shipment. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) Companies are already changing logistics to cut exposure to delays and duties. Amazon this week opened its first Global Warehousing and Distribution center in Shenzhen, an “all-in-one” hub that handles storage, customs clearance, cross-border shipping and inventory transfers for Chinese sellers shipping to U.S. customers. (scmp.com) South China Morning Post reported Amazon says the Shenzhen model can cut storage costs for merchants by up to 45%, and one seller said shipping times fell from an unpredictable two to four weeks to as little as three days after joining the program last year. Amazon opened the facility more broadly on April 15 as competition from Temu and Shein intensified. (scmp.com 1) (scmp.com 2) Importers say the refund process could still be messy. Reuters quoted Basic Fun chief executive Jay Foreman, whose company sells Tonka trucks and Care Bears, saying he was “locked and loaded” for Monday’s launch but worried the government could still “jam things up.” (usnews.com) Monday’s opening will test whether the government can turn a Supreme Court loss into actual repayments at scale. For companies that paid the struck-down duties, the next deadline is no longer the ruling on February 20, but the CAPE login screen on April 20. (time.com) (supremecourt.gov)
