U.S. readies $166bn tariff refunds
The U.S. will launch a system on April 20 to refund importers about $166 billion in tariffs the Supreme Court struck down. (reuters.com) Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said tariffs could come back as soon as July under Section 301, and lobbying is intensifying around duties on specific products. (cnbctv18.com) A PwC survey cited by Fortune reports most CEOs now expect import taxes to outlast the current administration, indicating businesses are already adjusting their planning. (fortune.com)
The Trump administration will open a refund system on April 20 for about $166 billion in tariffs that the Supreme Court threw out in February. (money.usnews.com) U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the first phase of the system, called CAPE, is finished and will send importers one electronic payment instead of refunding entries one by one. The agency said interest will be added when applicable. (money.usnews.com) As of April 9, 56,497 importers had completed the steps needed for electronic refunds covering $127 billion. Court papers say more than 330,000 importers paid the tariffs on 53 million shipments. (money.usnews.com) The money is being returned because the Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let a president impose tariffs. The court said tariff power belongs to Congress under Article I of the Constitution. (hklaw.com) That ruling erased the legal basis for the administration’s broad emergency tariffs, but it did not settle what would replace them. Trade lawyers said the decision left companies waiting for answers on refunds, new duties and more litigation. (skadden.com) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 14 that tariff rates could return by early July through Section 301 investigations. Section 301 is a trade law that lets the United States answer what it says are unfair foreign trade practices after an investigation. (bloomberg.com, hklaw.com) The administration also moved within hours of the February ruling to impose a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and to start country-specific Section 301 cases. That kept tariff policy in flux even after the Supreme Court blocked the emergency-powers approach. (hklaw.com) Business planning has already shifted. PwC said in its 2026 Global CEO Survey that tariff worries are rising as revenue confidence falls, and Fortune reported that most chief executives now expect higher import taxes to last beyond the current administration. (pwc.com, finance.yahoo.com) For importers, April 20 is not the end of the tariff fight. It is the date when cash starts moving back even as Washington prepares the next round of trade cases. (money.usnews.com, bloomberg.com)
