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Companies Are Suing Trump for Tariff Refunds. Does That Mean Lower Prices for You?
By Pete Grieve MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
During oral arguments in November, Justice Amy Coney Barrett bluntly asked the lawyer representing the groups opposing tariffs: “If you win, tell me how the reimbursement process would work. Would it be a complete mess?”
The Supreme Court could soon rule on the main legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. If these tariffs are struck down, importers hope to recoup billions of dollars.
Depending on the decision, the Trump administration could be ordered to refund over $133 billion in tariff revenue. But experts say actually taking that step would be difficult, and everyday Americans are unlikely to benefit. During oral arguments in November, Justice Amy Coney Barrett bluntly asked the lawyer representing the groups opposing tariffs: “If you win, tell me how the reimbursement process would work. Would it be a complete mess?”
The case involves a set of tariffs that are based on a 1977 law — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The groups suing over Trump’s trade policies argue that the law does not give Trump broad power to impose tariffs and, therefore, they’re invalid.
In the meantime, retailers like Costco and Crocs have filed lawsuits of their own against the administration, hoping to maximize their chances of securing refunds if the Supreme Court invalidates Trump’s tariffs.
That’s a big “if,” but in total, over 700 companies have initiated tariff refund lawsuits at the Court of International Trade, according to Ashley Akers, an attorney at Holland & Knight.
The Treasury has $774 billion on hand, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently told Reuters it “won’t be a problem if we have to do” refunds. He also shared his skepticism that companies suing the administration would return money to their clients.
It remains unclear if any refunds will be issued. Even if Trump’s tariffs are struck down, Siddartha Rao, an attorney at Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, explains that the court could basically “say, ‘We’re invalidating the tariffs and they can’t be imposed going forward, but we’re not touching whatever was imposed before.’”
Will the Supreme Court approve tariff refunds?
If the Supreme Court opens a pathway for refunds, that process could take several forms, and the justices may kick key questions back to a lower court to sort out.
“We’re not going to know the exact process even if the opinion comes out on Friday,” Akers says.
In one scenario, Customs and Border Protection could create a “streamlined” online refund process, she says. Alternatively, businesses seeking refunds could be instructed to submit “post summary corrections” or “protests,” which are existing administrative processes for correcting tariff payments, Akers explains.
These are all just hypotheticals, though.
“The Supreme Court would not get into the weeds of managing it,” says Rao. “They would remand it back to the Federal Circuit, which would kick it back down to the Court of International Trade, and it would be up to the trial judges to figure out a process for importers to get their refunds.”
In any outcome involving refunds, the money would go back to importers who paid duties. No matter what happens, consumers will likely not receive checks from the federal government.
Yes, American shoppers have paid somewhat higher prices due to tariffs, but the potential claim to a refund would lie only with the importer of record that actually paid the tariff.
Akers notes that if tariff refunds go through, there’s “a chance that a company will do the customer a solid and pass along a refund.” But don’t count on it.
A Supreme Court ruling striking down tariffs could only really lead to price relief for consumers in the form of lower prices going forward. Companies would no longer need to pass tariff costs along to customers, and that would be seen as a win for shoppers and tariff-sensitive businesses.
Why companies are suing for tariff refunds
Some companies that have sued the administration are concerned about tariff payments that are becoming “liquidated,” or finalized, by Customs and Border Protection. Remedies for importers are typically more limited after that liquidation date, which usually occurs 314 days after payment.
Last month, the Court of International Trade tried to calm concerns, confirming that tariff entries could be reliquidated, or returned, if tariffs are deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court.
Customs and Border Protection also announced Tuesday that it’s modernizing its refund process to be electronic — another sign that the federal government may be bracing for the possibility of an unprecedented refund situation.
But Bessent has also referenced the administration’s backup plan to issue new tariffs on different grounds if the Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s IEEPA tariffs, meaning this saga isn’t ending anytime soon.
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Pete Grieve is a New York-based reporter who covers personal finance news. At Money, Pete covers trending stories that affect Americans’ wallets on topics including car buying, insurance, housing, credit cards, retirement and taxes. He studied political science and photography at the University of Chicago, where he was editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon. Pete began his career as a professional journalist in 2019. Prior to joining Money, he was a health reporter for Spectrum News in Ohio, where he wrote digital stories and appeared on TV to provide coverage to a statewide audience. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times and CNN Politics. Pete received extensive journalism training through Report for America, a nonprofit organization that places reporters in newsrooms to cover underreported issues and communities, and he attended the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in 2021. Pete has discussed his reporting in interviews with outlets including the Columbia Journalism Review and WBEZ (Chicago's NPR station). He’s been a panelist at the Chicago Headline Club’s FOIA Fest and he received the Institute on Political Journalism’s $2,500 Award for Excellence in Collegiate Reporting in 2017. An essay he wrote for Grey City magazine was published in a 2020 book, Remembering J. Z. Smith: A Career and its Consequence.