The Trump administration has refunded more than $20 billion in tariffs to importers and shippers after the Supreme Court struck down the core legal basis for the tariff program in February. Court filings show the refund process is underway—$20.6 billion comple
For importers and shippers who thought the Supreme Court’s February decision would stay confined to the courtroom, the money started moving anyway—quietly, through processing steps and paperwork.
In a court filing Tuesday, Brandon Lord, executive director of trade programs at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. said the Trump administration has accepted approximately $85 billion in “potential and certified refunds” for processing so far. Of that total, Lord said $20.6 billion in refunds had been “completed” as of data through Friday. He added that “4. 185 consolidated refunds have not been transmitted to Treasury” yet for processing because the importers that applied for them have not provided their bank account information.
The refunds are not abstract. Hundreds of companies have lined up for repayment. including Costco. Walmart. Home Depot. Target. General Motors. Ford. FedEx. UPS and DHL. For businesses that built their supply chains around the costs of tariffs paid during Trump’s second term. the question now is simple: how much of that burden will be reversed. and how quickly.
Even as refunds roll out, the tariff pressure is not gone. Importers are still paying a blanket 10% tariff that Trump implemented under a different law immediately after the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs that had been the “cornerstone” of his trade policy. Trump threatened to raise that duty to 15% in the days after the ruling, but so far he has not.
The legal fight that triggered the refunds began with the Supreme Court striking down the administration’s reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The administration had used authority under IEEPA to collect more than $165 billion in country-specific tariffs from importers since the start of Trump’s second term. After the high court found those tariffs exceeded what IEEPA permitted, those tariffs are now being refunded.
The refund timetable also exposes a different kind of pressure point: not court deadlines. but whether companies have finished supplying the administrative details needed to unlock their payments. Lord’s filing laid out the bottleneck plainly—4. 185 consolidated refunds waiting on bank information—suggesting the delay is procedural even when the underlying legal basis has been resolved.
Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and the rest of the companies seeking refunds are now being tugged between two realities: money being processed under the Supreme Court’s decision, and continued tariff costs under the 10% rate that remains in effect.
That tension is likely to intensify politically. Trump recently signaled that he would pay close attention to who requested refunds and who did not. saying last month he would “remember” which companies decided not to ask for refunds—an approach that carries risk for companies weighing administrative effort against potential benefit.
The next battle is over whether the administration can keep tariffs flowing through a mechanism that does not require Congress to authorize a new period. Under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, the president can impose global tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days. Congress could extend the authority, but with few exceptions, the power to regulate tariffs belongs to Congress, not the president.
Yet the Trump administration appears poised to try to renew the Section 122 tariffs’ 150-day period without congressional approval.
Jamieson Greer, U.S. Trade Representative. said Tuesday he cannot imagine the Republican-controlled House and Senate moving to block the administration from restarting the 150-day clock. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations. Greer argued that the statute allows tariffs to “expire” without spelling out whether the clock can be restarted. adding that “it says they expire but doesn’t say when you can redo it.” He asked rhetorically whether Congress would argue the power is “once per term.”.
He acknowledged the underlying structure is “temporary” while describing “some tension in that,” and said he cannot go further than arguing that the law does not say the provision can’t be reused.
So for now, the Supreme Court’s February ruling is translating into refunds—at least in part. More than $20.6 billion has been completed out of roughly $85 billion accepted for processing, while thousands of consolidated refunds remain in limbo pending bank details.
The court may have ended the administration’s IEEPA tariff authority, but the broader tariff fight is still moving—through a separate 10% duty that continues to be paid and through a legal dispute over whether the administration can keep the 150-day clock ticking without Congress.
tariff refunds Supreme Court IEEPA U.S. Customs and Border Protection Brandon Lord $20.6 billion 4 185 refunds 10% tariff Section 122 Trade Act of 1974 Jamieson Greer Council on Foreign Relations Costco Walmart Home Depot Target General Motors Ford FedEx UPS DHL
So they refunded $20B but we’re still paying 10%?? Make it make sense.
I saw Costco and Walmart on there so basically the big guys got paid back already. Meanwhile normal people are still gonna feel the prices so who cares about the refunds honestly.
Is this just like a clerical thing? Like the Supreme Court said it was illegal so they’re just “processing” it now. I don’t even get why importers have to give their bank info—didn’t the government already have it? Sounds like paperwork delays not law.
They said $20.6 billion completed and then like 4.185 refunds not transmitted yet… so are they still taking it in the meantime? Also that 10% tariff is still there, so basically the whole thing is pointless until that part changes. Supreme Court blowback sounds scary but it’s just money moving around, right?