$20 billion in tariff refunds paid so far, with more on the way

The Trump administration has refunded more than $20 billion so far in tariffs to importers and shippers, according to a court filing, after the Supreme Court struck down the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s trade policy in February.

The administration had relied on authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to collect more than $165 billion in country-specific tariffs from importers since the start of Trump’s term. The high court found that these tariffs exceeded what IEEPA permitted the president to do.

Now, those tariffs are being refunded to importers.

“Approximately $85 billion in both potential and certified refunds have been accepted for processing” so far, said Brandon Lord, executive director of trade programs at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, in a court filing Tuesday.

Citing data through May 22, Lord said $20.6 billion in refunds of the $85 billion had been “completed.”

However, he wrote, “4,185 consolidated refunds have not been transmitted to Treasury” for processing yet because the importers that had applied for these refunds had not provided their bank account information.

Hundreds of companies have lined up to get their money back, including Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, FedEx, UPS and DHL.

Last month, Trump said he would “remember” which companies decided not to ask for refunds, implying that he would view them favorably.

Despite the prospect of refunds, importers are still paying a blanket 10% tariff that Trump implemented under a different law immediately after the Supreme Court struck down his IEEPA tariffs.

Trump had threatened to raise that duty to 15% in the days after the Supreme Court ruling, but so far has not done so.

The 10% rate, implemented under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, allows the president to impose global tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days. Congress could vote to extend that — with few exceptions, the power to regulate tariffs belongs to Congress, not to the president.

But the Trump administration appears poised to try to renew the Section 122 tariffs’ 150 period without congressional approval.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday that he can’t imagine the Republican controlled House and Senate moving to block the Trump administration from restarting the 150-day clock on the tariffs.

“When you look at that statute, it says they expire, but doesn’t say when you can redo it,” Greer said at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“I might get in a little trouble here,” he said, half-jokingly.

“Whether the 122, you know, can be used — when it can be reused — I mean, I can’t imagine that Congress would say, well, this is just, you know, once per term, right?” Greer asked rhetorically.

“So I can’t really opine on it, beyond saying it doesn’t say you can’t reuse it. But it is temporary, there’s some tension in that,” he said.

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