American companies and foreign importers are preparing to seek a refund of up to $166 billion in illegally collected tariffs as the United States prepares to launch a new electronic claims system on Monday, Reuters reports.
The move is another twist in a year-long trade battle after the U.S. Supreme Court in February overturned tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under an emergency law. The decision dealt a major blow to the administration’s trade policy.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it had completed the first phase of the CAPE system, which will consolidate refunds into a single electronic payment with interest where applicable, rather than separate payments for each shipment.
As of April 9, about 56,497 importers had completed the steps to electronically refund a total of $127 billion, or more than three-quarters of the amount eligible. According to court documents, more than 330,000 importers had paid the duties in question on 53 million shipments.
Still, businesses remain cautious. Basic Fun CEO Jay Foreman, whose company is seeking $7 million back, said, "You have to worry about what they could do to shut things down."
Oshkosh CFO Matt Field said he was prepared to file a lawsuit immediately but could wait for "the system to settle down."
Other companies have also reported difficulties registering. Jason Chung of Huntar Co. said, "It would be nice to get that money back", but added, "It seems like the government is trying to make it difficult".
The Trump administration has until early May to appeal the court order creating the portal, raising concerns of another delay.
Who exactly will get the refunds has become a major issue after American consumers endured a year of higher prices due to tariffs. The system is designed to refund the importer of record, not the end consumers who paid higher prices for the goods as a result.
At a congressional budget hearing on Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer — a key architect of the tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court and the new import duties the administration is trying to impose in their place — was asked if the administration had any plans to refund households.
The Democratic-led attorneys general of the states that brought one of the cases decided by the Supreme Court “asked for the money to be returned to the companies,” Greer said. “The Democratic attorneys general asked for it and they’re getting what they asked for.”