The United States (US) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that importers can begin filing requests for tariff refunds from Monday 20 April via an online portal. These refunds come after the US Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs imposed by the US President, Donald Trump, were unconstitutional.
CBP reports that over 330,000 importers paid a total of around $166 billion on over 53 million shipments, making this one of the largest repayment programmes in history. However, certain individual consumers who were indirectly hit by the tariffs due to higher prices, are not expected to be compensated. Some individuals are filing class action lawsuits against companies who passed on the cost of Trump's tariffs, arguing that any refunds businesses are paid should be passed on to consumers.
The announcement comes as the CBP develops the Consolidated Administration and Process of Entries (CAPE) tool to assist with the refund process, aiming to streamline the submission and processing of valid refund requests for duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
This is the first phase of the refund process, with the CBP planning to implement CAPE through a phased development approach, adding more functionality in upcoming phases for more complex scenarios.
Importers and authorised brokers were advised that successful applicants should anticipate their refunds to be issued within 60 to 90 days, following acceptance of the CAPE Declaration, unless a compliance concern requires further CBP review.