US refunds $100 billion in tariffs struck down by Supreme Court, CBP filing shows
Washington DC, August 6
The United States has processed refunds worth around USD 100 billion in Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs that were later struck down by the US Supreme Court, according to a court filing by US Customs and Border Protection, marking one of the largest tariff refund efforts in the agency's history.
The refunds relate to additional ad valorem duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court invalidated in February this year. The amount processed represents more than half of the approximately USD 166 billion collected in tariffs affected by the ruling of the apex court.
According to the declaration filed by Brandon Lord, Executive Director of the Trade Programs Directorate at CBP's Office of Trade, the agency has developed a new system capability within its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) platform to calculate and process eligible refunds.
The new functionality, called the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), became available to importers and customs brokers on April 20, 2026.
"As of 3pm eastern time on Friday, July 31, 2026, approximately $128.68 billion in both potential and certified refunds have been accepted for processing in CAPE," Lord stated in the declaration filed in the US Court of International Trade.
He added that refunds, including duties and interest, amounting to approximately USD 100 billion had been completed through the CAPE Refund component, certified by CBP and sent to the US Department of Treasury for disbursement.
"Of this total amount, refunds (duties plus interest) of approximately $100 billion have been completed using the CAPE Refund component, 4 certified by the agency, and sent to the U.S. Department of Treasury ("Treasury") for disbursement," the filing stated.
CBP said the CAPE system has processed hundreds of thousands of refund declarations since its launch. As of July 31, 2026, 252,496 CAPE declarations had been submitted, of which 178,213 passed file validations.
The tariff refunds stem from a legal challenge to the Trump administration's use of IEEPA to impose certain tariffs, a policy that had become a major component of Donald Trump's trade as well as foreign policy agenda.
In February, the US Supreme Court, in a majority ruling, held that the US President lacked authority under the 1977 IEEPA to impose sweeping import duties on goods from nearly all US trading partners.
The Supreme Court, in its verdict, held that the IEEPA does not grant the President the authority to levy tariffs.
The Bench of Nine Justices ruled 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts authoring the majority opinion.
US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in his dissenting opinion, said that the immediate consequences of the ruling could be substantial, including potential multi-billion-dollar refunds.
"In the meantime, however, the interim effects of the Court's decision could be substantial. The United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others," Justice Kavanaugh noted in his dissent.
— ANI
Reader Comments
This is a massive amount of money! I wonder what impact these refunds will have on the American economy. Also interesting how the new CAPE system was built so quickly to handle this. Good to see efficient government systems working for citizens and businesses.
Classic Trump administration overreach! He thought he could bypass Congress with IEEPA, but the Supreme Court put him in his place. As someone who follows global trade closely, I'm glad the rule of law prevailed. Indian businesses that export to the US should note that the US does respect its legal processes.
Honestly, Kavanaugh has a point - many importers passed those costs to consumers. The people who actually paid these tariffs were everyday American families buying imported goods. Now the companies get refunds while consumers are left with higher prices from the past year. Not exactly fair, is it?
$100 billion is more than many countries' GDP! 🇮🇳 India's total exports to the US are around $80-90 billion annually, so imagine if that much money got stuck. Shows how interconnected global trade is. Hope Indian exporters learn from this and understand the importance of stable trade policies.
While I appreciate the rule of law here, I can't help but think about the administrative nightmare this must have been. Building a whole new system (CAPE) to process refunds, validating hundreds of thousands of declarations... The CBP team deserves credit for pulling this off. Also, nice to see that the interest payments are included in the refunds - proper compensation!
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