U.S. repackages tariffs
The U.S. is retooling how it applies Trump‑era tariffs rather than abandoning them: officials plan to launch a tariff‑refund system on April 20 and the administration has already moved a 15% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act. (investing.com) Business sentiment shows many executives now treat import taxes as a persistent risk—PwC’s survey found most CEOs expect tariffs to outlast this administration—and the administration has tweaked metal tariffs while keeping broader automotive protection in place. (fortune.com) (digitaldealer.com) Treasury officials and reporting say the full suite of Trump‑era measures could be restored by July, signalling further policy uncertainty for global supply chains. (startupfortune.com)
The Trump administration is keeping U.S. tariffs in place, but changing the legal wrappers around them and opening a refund channel for some importers on April 20. (ustr.gov) (cbp.gov) U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Phase 1 of its new refund process begins Monday, April 20, 2026, through a tool called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries inside the Automated Commercial Environment portal. The agency said the system is for duty refunds tied to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. (cbp.gov) (nortonrosefulbright.com) At the same time, the White House has already shifted part of its tariff program onto Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which lets a president impose temporary import surcharges to address balance-of-payments problems. President Donald Trump’s February 20 proclamation set that duty at 10% for 150 days, effective February 24. (whitehouse.gov 1) (whitehouse.gov 2) The carveouts are as important as the tariff itself. The White House said the Section 122 duty does not apply to goods already covered by Section 232 metal tariffs, to United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement compliant goods from Canada and Mexico, or to categories including pharmaceuticals, certain electronics, aerospace products, and many vehicles and vehicle parts. (whitehouse.gov) That means the administration is not moving toward a clean rollback. It is preserving broad import protection while routing different products through different statutes, including Section 122 for a temporary across-the-board surcharge and Section 232 for metals framed as a national security issue. (whitehouse.gov 1) (whitehouse.gov 2) On April 2, the White House also rewrote the metal tariff rules again. A new proclamation kept Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum, and copper, said the tariffs were strengthening domestic industries, and revised how duties apply to covered metal products and derivatives. (whitehouse.gov) (whitecase.com) Business leaders are increasingly treating that structure as durable policy, not a short-term disruption. PwC said in January that chief executive confidence in revenue growth had fallen to 30% globally, and a separate PwC survey of 633 U.S. executives found 86% now treat tariffs as a permanent planning assumption. (pwc.com) (finance.yahoo.com) The refund process shows why companies care about the details. Reuters reported on April 2 that some importers were already exploring loans backed by expected tariff refunds, and Fortune reported that cash-strapped firms were using refund claims as collateral while waiting for the new system to open. (usnews.com) (finance.yahoo.com) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that tariff rates struck down by the Supreme Court could return by early July through Section 301 studies. That leaves importers facing two moving targets at once: getting money back from invalidated duties while preparing for a fresh round of legally reissued ones. (news.bloomberglaw.com)
