US to launch tariff refunds

The Trump administration plans to open a federal refund system on April 20 to repay importers for unlawful tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February. (money.usnews.com) U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the first phase of the system, called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, is finished. The agency said importers will get one electronic payment, with interest when applicable, instead of separate refunds for each shipment. (money.usnews.com) Court filings say more than 330,000 importers paid the tariffs on about 53 million import entries, for roughly $166 billion in total. As of April 9, 56,497 importers had completed the setup needed for electronic refunds covering $127 billion. (money.usnews.com) The refunds stem from a February 20, 2026, Supreme Court ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let a president impose tariffs. The 6-3 decision wiped out tariffs imposed under that law since February 2025. (millerchevalier.com) That law, passed in 1977, lets presidents respond to national emergencies by restricting economic activity. The court said its power to “regulate” imports did not clearly include the power to tax them through tariffs. (millerchevalier.com) The refund fight then moved to the U.S. Court of International Trade, where Judge Richard Eaton ordered Customs and Border Protection to start recalculating duties without the invalid tariffs. The court is now supervising how the government returns the money. (skadden.com, bloomberg.com) The first launch will not cover every shipment. A March 31 court filing said the portal would initially handle claims for about 63% of the 53 million entries, while the remaining third would be processed later with no firm timetable. (bloomberg.com) Customs said some entries tied to about $2.9 billion in tariffs still may need manual handling, which the agency said would strain trade operations and enforcement staff. Trade lawyers have said the process is unusually complex because the customs system was not built for refunds on this scale. (money.usnews.com, spglobal.com) The administration has already tried to replace the invalidated tariffs with a temporary global tariff under a different statute, and that move is also being challenged in court. For now, the April 20 launch starts the mechanics of sending back money the government says it should not have collected under the emergency-powers law. (money.usnews.com)