Small firms shut out of $166B

U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened its CAPE portal on April 20, giving importers their first formal path to reclaim tariffs the Supreme Court struck down on February 20. (cbp.gov) (inc.com) The tariffs were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, and the Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the law did not authorize them. A later order from the U.S. Court of International Trade required refunds. (skadden.com) (forbes.com) The money at stake is enormous. CBP and court filings put the disputed pool at roughly $165 billion to $166 billion across more than 53 million entries and more than 330,000 importers. (skadden.com) (forbes.com) The early imbalance is in the registration numbers. As of April 9, 56,497 importers had completed the steps for electronic refunds, representing about $127 billion in claims, or more than three-quarters of the total pool. (usatoday.com) (finance.yahoo.com) Small-business advocates say that favors companies with trade lawyers, customs staff and cash to wait. Matthew Seligman of Grayhawk Law told Fortune smaller importers could lose refund rights if they do not get legal help in time. (finance.yahoo.com) CBP’s own design adds limits in the opening round. Phase 1 applies only to certain unliquidated entries and some entries within 80 days of liquidation, and filings must go through the ACE portal as a CSV upload. (cbp.gov) Only the importer of record or an authorized customs broker can file a CAPE declaration. Individual consumers cannot apply, even if companies passed tariff costs through in higher prices. (cbp.gov) (inc.com) Each declaration is capped at 9,999 entries, though companies can file more than one. Once a claim is submitted, Inc. reported, it cannot be corrected, which raises the cost of mistakes for firms without dedicated compliance teams. (cbp.gov) (inc.com) The pressure on smaller firms predates the refund portal. Center for American Progress said small-business importers paid an average of $306,000 more in tariffs from March 2025 through February 2026 than in the prior year. (americanprogress.org) Federal Reserve survey data also showed tariffs were a leading financial problem for small firms. CFO Dive, citing the Fed’s 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, reported 42% named tariff-related costs as a major challenge. (cfodive.com) (fedsmallbusiness.org) CBP says approved refunds should arrive by direct deposit in 60 to 90 days, but the agency is rolling CAPE out in phases and more complex claims are still waiting for later functionality. For small importers, the portal is open, but the easiest claims appear to be moving first. (cbp.gov) (skadden.com)