- US starts refunding $175 billion in tariffs deemed illegal by Supreme Court under Trump rule
- New CAPE portal launched to streamline refund submissions for IEEPA-related duties and interest
- Phase 1 refunds limited to certain unliquidated entries and those within 80 days of liquidation
After weeks of waiting, the US government has finally begun the process of refunding billions of dollars collected from importers under President Donald Trump's 'America First' tariff policy. The Trump administration is launching an online portal for businesses to reimburse approximately $175 billion in paid tariffs, which were deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court in February.
The portal, known as CAPE, or Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, will streamline the submission and processing of valid refund requests for duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as authorised by court order, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The portal is, however, designed to consolidate refunds of IEEPA duties, including interest, rather than processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis. It remains unclear how the Trump administration will process the returns.
Who Will Be Immediately Eligible For Returns?
According to a CBS report, the US government could owe businesses up to $175 billion after the Supreme Court ruled in February that President Donald Trump had illegally issued tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.
As of April 9, over 56,000 US importers have registered to receive tariff refunds, according to CBP. However, not all of these requests meet the criteria for refunds in the first phase of the refund system.
"Phase 1 is limited to certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation," per a CBP post.
Around 82 per cent of the payments, amounting to $127 billion, are eligible for refunds in CAPE's initial deployment, the CBS report said.
Will Customers Get Refunds?
It was not just the business but the customers as well that bore the bulk of the tariff burden. But it remains unclear if the consumers will get any refunds.
Some companies, including FedEx and Costco, have pledged to compensate customers, but so far, there's no process to do so.
Which Tariffs Are Eligible For Refunds?
Only IEEPA tariffs are eligible for refunds, and even then, there are limits to the kinds of duties that CBP said it will refund.
That accounts for roughly 63 per cent of all IEEPA duties, Sanne Manders, president of Flexport, a global trade and logistics company, told CBS.
"The remaining 37 per cent of entries that have already been liquidated or are being protested are excluded... A lot is still unclear about what the process will be," she added.
