The Trump administration has refunded about $100 billion in "liberation day" tariffs after the Supreme Court barred their use, according to a filing submitted to a US trade court. The sum equals 60% of the $165 billion collected, and customs officials say more than $128 billion has already been accepted for processing.
US Customs and Border Protection has repaid roughly $100 billion in tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court, customs officials told judges at the US Court of International Trade on Tuesday. The refunds cover 60% of the $165 billion collected from Trump's "liberation day" duties, and CBP said more than $128 billion has already been accepted for processing, signaling more refunds are imminent.
The lower court ordered CBP to process the refunds after the Supreme Court in February barred the administration from using emergency economic powers to impose the tariffs, curbing Trump's use of executive authority. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had warned in February that the process could take years to litigate before any payouts arrived.
Pace surprises trade lawyers
The speed of the repayments has caught trade lawyers and analysts off guard. According to Sidley Austin trade lawyer Ted Murphy: "The administration is ploughing through the refunds." Trump himself attacked the ruling as recently as last month, complaining on Truth Social that it cost the country trillions of dollars.
But the surprise was not confined to critics of the ruling. Walker Livingston, an analyst at Capstone who tracks the refunds through the courts, said he too had been surprised by how quickly the government moved.
Lawmakers say companies, not consumers, benefit
Democratic lawmakers argue the refunds mostly reach large companies rather than the consumers and small businesses that absorbed the tariff costs. Representative Greg Casar of Texas said Trump was sending the money to companies rather than working people, adding that every refunded dollar should go back to American consumers instead.
CBP's new refund system also lets only the "importer of record" file a claim, a restriction that excludes small businesses that never directly imported goods but still paid the tariffs through higher costs or itemized surcharges. Other small businesses have said they do not know how to seek refunds or lack the resources to do so.
New tariffs already face legal challenges
Even as it returns billions of dollars, the administration is rebuilding its tariff wall with a new series of levies. Last week, it began imposing duties of 10% to 12.5% on more than 60 economies, using separate legislation from the law the Supreme Court rejected.
At least three lawsuits already challenge the new tariffs, including from lawyers who successfully overturned the "liberation day" duties in the Supreme Court.
Source: Financial Times
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