U.S. pays $166B tariff refunds

Tariffs are suddenly moving in two directions at once. The U.S. is finally sending money back to importers after the Supreme Court knocked out a huge chunk of Trump’s global tariff program. But at the same time, the trade team is shoring up a different set of China tariffs that the courts have not touched. So the big picture is not “tariffs are over.” It’s more like one legal pathway blew up, and Washington is rerouting traffic. (ttnews.com) ### What money is actually going out? Customs and Border Protection began paying refunds to some importers on May 6, and lawyers for importers said more payments were queued for May 7. These are refunds for tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — IEEPA — the emergency-law authority Trump used to impose broad tariffs in 2025. The Supreme Cour(ttnews.com)the refund process now hitting bank accounts. (ttnews.com) ### Why is the number so big? Because the tariffs were broad and they stayed in place while the lawsuits played out. The universe of affected imports is enormous — more than 330,000 importers, 53 million entries, and roughly $166 billion in duties and estimated deposits. That is why this is not a normal rebate program. It may be one of the biggest customs refund exercises the U.S. has ever tried to run. (foxrothschild.com) ### Why can’t Customs just pay everyone fast? Because customs entries are messy. Different importers, brokers, corrections, payment methods, and record problems all have to line up. CBP built a new online refund portal that launched on April 20, but the first phase could not even accept claims for more than a thi(foxrothschild.com)cess, while several million entries had already been rejected from that first pass. (ttnews.com) ### Are importers getting the full amount? Some are getting refunds with interest — trade lawyers said that much. But the catch is bigger than that. The administration still had not committed, as of May 6, to refunding every dollar it collected under the IEEPA tariffs. So yes, payments have started. But no, the whole legal and operational fight is not finished. Another government update is due in court on May 12. (ttnews.com) ### So what tariffs are still alive? Section 301 tariffs on China are the big surviving pillar. On May 6, USTR formally started the second four-year review of two 2018 tariff tranches — both 25% duties — covering a combined $32 billion of imports across more than 500 tariff subheadings. Those tariffs were first imposed in Trump’s first term, then kept and expanded under Bide(ttnews.com)f U.S. trade policy. (supplychaindive.com) ### Why does Section 301 matter so much now? Because Section 301 is narrower and legally sturdier than the emergency powers route that just got struck down. It is built for unfair-trade cases, especially China cases, and it comes with a process — investigations, findings, comment periods, reviews. That makes it slower(supplychaindive.com)is the detour the White House thinks can survive. (supplychaindive.com) ### What happens next in the China review? First, domestic industries have to ask to keep the tariffs in place before the statutory deadlines tied to the original 2018 actions — May 7 and July 5. If enough support comes in, USTR moves to a broader phase and asks for public comment on whether the tariffs still work and what they do to the U.S. economy. That review does not guarantee higher tariffs. But it does keep the legal machinery running. (supplychaindive.com) ### What’s the real takeaway? The U.S. is refunding one tariff regime because the courts forced it to. It is preserving another because trade officials still want leverage over China. That means importers may get relief on old unlawful duties even as they keep planning around a tariff-heavy system that is not going away — just changing legal wrappers. (ttnews.com)