Just two months ago the United States Supreme Court declared part of the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump illegal. Now Washington is starting to accept refund requests from US importing companies. According to government estimates, federal state coffers have collected $166 billion from tariffs in almost a year. Not to mention the interest on such a huge sum.
The Supreme Court decision
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court, by a vote of 6 to 3, ruled that Trump had abused his authority by invoking a federal emergency powers law to impose his “reciprocal” tariffs around the world. To impose the tariffs, the tycoon had used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a US federal law promulgated in 1977. The law allows the president of the United States to identify any external threat to the country and act accordingly. The measure was contested by importers because the words “tariff” and “duty” did not appear in the text. Furthermore, for the Court’s judges, Trump needed authorization from Congress.
Refunds
In March the International Trade Court, a US federal body, ordered the government to return the money to the importers. The administration was therefore forced to act accordingly. According to Washington, there were more than 330 thousand importers who had paid Ieepa duties. This translates into a significant organizational and bureaucratic effort.
On April 20, the government launched the refund system, known as Cape, to process imports and then refunds to be given. According to calculations, once an importer’s request is accepted, it will take 60 to 90 days to receive the money. Meanwhile, it is not yet clear whether Trump will want to return to court with an appeal to block the refunds.
The comment
In an interview with CnbcTrump again criticized the judges’ decision: “Now we have to give back 160 billion dollars due to the Supreme Court ruling. For two small votes we have to give back 160 billion and it was enough for them to insert a small sentence in the ruling that said that we would not have to return the duties already paid. We are giving money back to people who hate us. I’m not happy with the Supreme Court.” Finally, the president added that he will “remember with gratitude” the US companies that do not request reimbursement of the duties imposed by him.