The legal dispute dates back to a Supreme Court ruling on February 20, delivered in a 6–3 decision. The court held that Trump had effectively assumed Congress’ constitutional role in determining tax policy when he imposed new import duties on goods from nearly all countries last April.
A judge at the US Court of International Trade concluded that businesses affected by tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are entitled to reimbursement for the duties they had paid, The Associated Press reported.
What are Trump tariff refunds and why they matter now
These refunds are linked to large-scale duties collected on imports that were later ruled unlawful. The affected measures include Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs introduced in April last year, along with additional tariffs placed on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada that were connected to efforts aimed at controlling fentanyl flow into the US.
The total amount involved is estimated at around $166 billion. This is important because it allows businesses to get back money paid under tariffs that were later ruled to have no proper legal basis.
Who Is eligible for tariff refunds
From Monday at 8 am, importers and customs brokers will be able to apply for refunds through an online portal managed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Companies that paid IEEPA tariffs while bringing goods into the US known as ‘importers of record,’ can submit refund claims through the online portal. Customs brokers who paid these import duties on behalf of businesses are also eligible to request refunds.
Consumers had been paying higher prices over the past year due to Trump’s tariffs but they are not eligible to receive any direct refunds.
Trump Tariff refunds: Key criteria
To claim refunds, importers or customs brokers need to submit their bank details and declare the import entries on which they paid IEEPA tariffs. This must be done through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal.
CBP has said refunds are expected to be processed within 60 to 90 days, though delays are possible if there are issues in applications or verification. All refunds will be paid electronically.
The process will be done in stages. In the first phase, CBP will accept claims for:
- Tariffs that have not yet been finalised (unliquidated entries)
- Tariffs finalised within the last 80 days
US Tariff Refunds: Concerns also surface
While the refund process is expected to bring relief for more than 330,000 importers, some businesses remain cautious about how smoothly it will work in practice.
Importers have expressed concerns about whether the new online filing system will be able to handle heavy traffic when thousands of companies try to submit refund claims at the same time.
“It’s not like Taylor Swift tickets going on sale,” Basic Fun CEO Foreman told Reuters.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had predicted that the refund process “could be a mess” lasting ‘months’ or ‘years.’ Trump had also suggested that related legal disputes could continue for two to five years.
