The Supreme Court\u2019s decision to strike down many of the Trump administration\u2019s tariffs has opened a question with a potentially lucrative answer: Will businesses \u2014 and maybe even consumers \u2014 get any money back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The short answer: Who knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its lengthy opinion Friday, the court did not offer clear next steps on refunds \u2014 something Justice Brett Kavanaugh did note in his dissenting opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers,\u201d Kavanaugh wrote. \u201cBut that process is likely to be a \u2018mess,\u2019 as was acknowledged at oral argument.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds of companies, including major retailer Costco, have already filed lawsuits to get refunds on money they paid toward Trump\u2019s tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the December data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, about $130 billion has been collected from Trump\u2019s tariffs implemented under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. One estimate from the University of Pennsylvania found that total could now be more than $175 billion, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Economists noted that the process for companies to get refunds on duties paid is unclear. But U.S. businesses that might be eligible for a refund aren\u2019t the only ones that have taken on the economic brunt of Trump\u2019s tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consumers have had to cough up more cash to keep up with businesses\u2019 rising costs. An analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published last week found that almost 90% of the \u201ceconomic burden\u201d of tariffs fell on consumers and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement that there is no \u201clegal mechanism for consumers and many small businesses to recoup the money they have already paid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInstead, giant corporations with their armies of lawyers and lobbyists can sue for tariff refunds, then just pocket the money for themselves,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s one more example of how the game is rigged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sent a letter to the president on Friday demanding a refund of $1,700 \u201cfor every family in Illinois.\u201d According to his letter, Pritzker said this would bring the total owed to more than $8 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Donald Trump called the court\u2019s decision \u201cdefective\u201d during a White House news conference on Friday afternoon. When asked about refunds, he aimed back at the court saying \u201cthey take months and months to write an opinion and they don\u2019t even discuss that point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI guess it has to get litigated for the next two years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When pushed further on whether he plans to pay back companies that file for refunds, Trump said, \u201cIt\u2019s not discussed. We\u2019ll end up being in court for the next five years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the Supreme Court\u2019s decision was announced, advocacy groups and some government officials immediately started calling for refunds to companies that paid tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We Pay the Tariffs, a group of small businesses advocating against Trump\u2019s tariffs, immediately called for \u201cfull, fast and automatic refunds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who filed a lawsuit against Trump\u2019s tariffs last year, said in a statement that \u201cevery dollar unlawfully taken must be refunded immediately \u2014 with interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the court\u2019s ruling, two members of Congress, Steven Horsford, D-Nev., and Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., introduced a bill that would require Customs and Border Protection to \u201cautomatically refund tariffs and customs duties collected under IEEPA since January 1, 2025,\u201d according to a release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his dissent, Kavanaugh added that refunds would have \u201csignificant consequences for the U.S. Treasury.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, at the beginning of January, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that if the Supreme Court ruled against Trump\u2019s tariffs, refunding the money \u201cwon\u2019t be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bessent did note that it would be a \u201ccorporate boondoggle\u201d and questioned whether companies like Costco would return the money back to their customers. He added that the refunds could take weeks, months or \u201cover a year\u201d to go out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside of confusion over how refunds would go out, economists have said that Trump has other avenues he could explore to implement tariffs, adding another layer that complicates how and whether companies get refunded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just hours after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump posted on Truth Social that he planned to sign an executive order placing a 10% global tariff rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n