A little over a year after President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day,” when he announced sweeping tariffs, hundreds of thousands of businesses are now rushing online to try to get their money back.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched a new online portal this morning that allows importers, big and small, to apply for refunds on tariffs the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down as illegal.
Back in February, the Supreme Court ruled that most of the tariffs the Trump administration imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unconstitutional. The court found that Trump overstepped his authority by using an emergency law to impose massive tariffs and that Congress never clearly gave him that power.
Now, CBP said in court filings that importers paid roughly $166 billion in tariffs under Trump’s unconstitutional policy.
The agency says it will process refunds in phases, according to its website. The first round will focus on tariffs that have been paid but not yet finalized because they’re still under federal review, as well as some that are within 80 days of finalization. Later phases will handle older, fully finalized tariffs.
According to CBP, payments will be issued electronically within 60 to 90 days of their refund application being accepted.
But not everyone will see that money. Refunds will only go to the importer of record or the licensed customs broker who originally paid the duties. That means businesses and consumers who ultimately absorbed higher prices from those tariffs have no guaranteed legal path to getting that money back.
Still, some are trying. NPR reports that some small businesses plan to negotiate with suppliers for discounts on future purchases to offset past costs.
Others are turning to the courts. Several class-action lawsuits have already been filed to recover tariff-related expenses.
In one case, a man in Miami filed a lawsuit against FedEx, claiming that the company refused to release an online shoe order until he paid $36 in tariff, brokerage, and clearance fees. FedEx has already said it plans to issue its own refunds.
“Yes. FedEx will issue refunds for IEEPA tariffs paid to shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges once FedEx begins receiving refunds from CBP,” the company said.
Costco is also facing a proposed class-action lawsuit from customers seeking refunds tied to tariff-related price increases.
CEO Ron Vachris told investors last month that Costco plans to return that value to shoppers through “lower prices and better values.”
FedEx and Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo.
