The Donald Trump Administration has returned more than 20 billion dollars in tariffs to importers and shippers to date. The Supreme Court struck down in February the cornerstone of the Republican president’s trade policy, according to court documents. The decision forced the Administration to reimburse values collected irregularly.
The Administration relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to collect more than 165 billion dollars in tariffs since the start of the term. The highest court determined that these levies exceeded what the IEEPA allowed the president. For this reason, the reimbursement requires returning money to thousands of companies.
At present, those tariffs are being reimbursed to affected importers. Brandon Lord, executive director of trade programs at the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), asserted in court documents that “approximately 85 billion dollars in potential and already certified reimbursements” have been accepted for processing, according to Telemundo.
How Much Money Has Been Returned and Which Companies Are Receiving the Reimbursement?
Citing data through May 22, Lord reported that 20.6 billion dollars in reimbursements had been completed out of the 85 billion accumulated. However, 4,185 consolidated reimbursements had not yet been sent to the Treasury for processing. Importers who requested these reimbursements had not provided their bank account information.
Hundreds of companies have lined up to recover their money. Among them are Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, FedEx, UPS, and DHL. These companies import consumer goods and vehicles, so the tariffs directly impacted their operating costs and profit margins.
Last month, Trump indicated that he would “remember” which companies decided not to request reimbursements. With that statement, he suggested he would view favorably companies that did not ask for their money back. However, the Supreme Court made no distinctions and ordered general reimbursement based on the illegality of the levies.
Why Did the Supreme Court Strike Down Trump’s Tariffs?
The ruling was based on the fact that the tariffs exceeded the authority granted by the IEEPA. That law allows the president to activate economic measures in very specific international emergency situations. However, the Court determined that imposing global tariffs does not fall within that legal framework.
