Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs. Now comes the hard work of issuing refunds
Thousands of U.S. importers are now preparing to apply for refunds following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning certain tariff collections. But the courts and U.S. Customs have never faced anything of this scale — tens of billions of dollars in potential repayments across thousands of cases.
“Just because the process is difficult to administer doesn’t mean the government has the right to keep fees that were collected unlawfully,” said trade lawyer Alexis Early, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
Former U.S. trade official Ryan Majerus, now a partner at King & Spalding, said the government’s next steps remain unclear. “It’s possible they might try to streamline the process, maybe even set up a dedicated website where importers can claim their refunds,” he suggested.
However, some experts expect resistance. Adetutu, a trade consultant, warned that “the government is well-positioned to make this as difficult as possible for importers. I can imagine a scenario where they push much of the burden onto the companies themselves — possibly even forcing them to go to court for their refunds.”
Major corporations like Costco, Revlon, and Bumble Bee Foods had already filed lawsuits seeking refunds before the Supreme Court ruling, hoping to secure a place at the front of the line if the tariffs were struck down.
Legal fights are far from over. Manufacturers may sue suppliers who raised raw material prices to offset the tariffs, claiming a share of any refund those suppliers receive. “We may see years of ongoing litigation across multiple jurisdictions,” Early cautioned.
Consumers, meanwhile, are unlikely to see any direct benefit. The higher retail prices they’ve paid are nearly impossible to link to a specific tariff. While technically free to pursue lawsuits, Early said it would be unwise to spend on legal fees: “In America, we can sue for anything — but that doesn’t mean it’s worth it.”
On the political front, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat and frequent critic of former President Trump, is demanding a refund on behalf of his state’s 5.11 million households. In a letter to Trump, Pritzker said the tariffs cost Illinois families a total of $8.7 billion, or roughly $1,700 per household, and warned that failure to pay could lead to “further action.”
In Nevada, State Treasurer Zach Conine has submitted a request to the federal government for $2.1 billion in refunds. “As Nevada’s chief investment officer, I have a responsibility to recover every dollar taken from Nevada families by the Trump Administration,” Conine said in a statement Friday.