The Trump Administration's Tariff Refund Portal Opens Soon, but Shoppers Can't Apply

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Friday that a tariff refund system will open on April 20, beginning a process that could return over $160 billion to importers after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's tariffs earlier this year.

But if the phrase "tariff refunds" makes you think money is going back to consumers, think again. Tariffs are paid by importers — typically companies, not individual shoppers — and they are the ones potentially eligible for refunds. More than 300,000 importers are awaiting refunds tied to about 53 million import entries.

Polling released last month by Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress, left-leaning think tanks, found that 42% of voters think "refunds should go directly to American households who paid higher prices." However, at this time, major companies have not indicated any plans to give money back to customers in the event of tariff refunds.

A new CNBC survey of chief financial officers found that while 12 of 25 of the executives surveyed say their companies are pursuing tariff refunds, none say their companies intend to share money directly with customers.

How the battle for tariff refunds got to this point

In a 6-3 decision on Feb. 20, the Supreme Court invalidated tariffs that Trump had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The ruling opened the door to refunds of duties already paid, although the justices left decisions about who gets refunds up to lower courts.

In March, Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered the government to create a tariff refund system. Eaton rejected the government's claims that the refund process has to be long and complicated. "I believe that there will be no chaos associated with the provision of these refunds and that it will not result in a mess," he said in a recent hearing.

That view contrasts with the president's comment that "we'll end up being in court for the next five years." In an earlier social media post, Trump also said it would be "impossible" to pay back tariffs, adding, "it would be 1929 all over again, a GREAT DEPRESSION!"

According to The New York Times, "a dizzying array of lawsuits" have been filed by businesses seeking refunds, in addition to lawsuits from governors and consumer class-action suits.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, has stated that it would take more than 4 million labor hours to complete refunds using existing systems. That's why a new tool known as CAPE, the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries tool, is being developed to dramatically speed up processing.

In the coming weeks, the government could appeal Eaton's latest order related to tariff refunds, according to Law360. It remains the president's belief that no money should go back to companies, but after his loss at the Supreme Court, legal experts see that outcome as unlikely. The administration's lawyers may instead focus on delaying refunds or making it tough for businesses to recover duties.

Last week, Eaton updated his order, starting a 60-day clock (from April 7) for the government to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That timeline gives until June 6 for an appeal.

It remains unclear which companies will be able to access the new system on April 20. The CAPE tool is intended to "simplify [IEEPA] duty refund requests made pursuant to court order" and "CAPE Phase 1 is limited to certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation," according to the latest announcement from CBP.

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