On April 20th, 2026, the U.S. government began accepting requests from American importers seeking refunds of up to $166 billion the Trump administration collected over the last year. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs imposed by the White House on imports from abroad, calling them “illegal.” The Court ordered the government to refund the fees it collected, plus interest. Over 3,000 companies including Costco and FedEx have sued the U.S. government over the tariffs demanding they be refunded to them.
The Trump administration used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the fees on imports levied according to the country exporting the consumers goods to American consumers. The 1977 law authorizes the U.S. president to declare a national emergency on commercial transactions based on “unusual and extraordinary” threats from countries.
But the Court determined that the law could not be used to set tariff rates for imports.
Around 90% of the tariffs paid by American consumers in 2025 came from goods imported from China, Canada and México. The U.S. government is currently in talks with Mexican officials in preparation for the upcoming June talks between them and Canadian officials to decide if the three countries wish to continue the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Tariffs on imports from Canada, China and México surpassed $179 billion last year.
It is estimated that American consumers paid around $1,000 in additional expenses in 2025 because of the tariffs.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be managing the tariff refunds. It launched the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) today, an online tool designed to process the refunds to companies seeking them. It will take between 30 to 60 days for the companies to receive their refunds once the system has accepted them.
The Court Ruling
In Learning Resources, Inc. et al, v. Trump, which was consolidated with V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, the Court held – six to three – that IEEPA “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.” Justice John Roberts authored the opinion. He was joined by Justices Amy Coney Barret, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Gorsuch added in the opinion that “the sweeping tariff power he [Trump] seeks to wield” is not provided by IEEPA.
Kavanaugh, in dissenting with the majority of the Court wrote that although the tariffs at issue “may or may not be wise policy,” they are “as a matter of text, history, and precedent,” clearly lawful.
Because of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the tariffs collected are now considered illegal, forcing the U.S. government to refund the taxes to the importers through the online dashboard they launched today.
Can U.S. Consumers Seek Refunds?
The Supreme Court ruling ordered that the tariff refunds be refunded to the company or individual on record as the importer of the goods. This precludes most individuals from seeking refunds for the tariffs even if they paid a tariff fee when they purchased the product. However, some companies, like FedEx, have said they will refund the tariff fees to the consumers who paid them. FedEx was frequently listed as the importer of record, and it added fees to deliveries to pay the tariffs. UPS, however, said that they will help its customers seek refunds directly from the government. Other companies are evaluating whether they will pay the fees back to consumers.
