The U.S. government just launched a portal to refund $166 billion in tariffs that the Supreme Court ruled were unconstitutional.
In a 6-3 decision back in February, the Court found that President Trump overstepped Congress's taxation authority when he used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose double-digit import taxes on goods from nearly every country. The tariffs were set last April, citing the U.S. trade deficit as a national emergency. The Court ruled that wasn't his call to make.
Starting today, over 330,000 businesses that paid those tariffs can begin filing claims through a new online system called CAPE. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says refunds will take 60 to 90 days to process, with the most recent payments handled first. Older claims will be cleared in phases through 2026. As of April 14, roughly 56,500 importers had already registered, eligible for $127 billion in refunds including interest.
The refunds go directly to the importers who paid them, not consumers. There's no obligation for businesses to pass the money along, though class-action lawsuits targeting companies like Costco and Essilor Luxottica are already working through the courts. FedEx and UPS, which collected tariffs directly from consumers on international shipments, have said they plan to return refunds to customers.
This is the largest trade refund in U.S. history. $166 billion collected under tariffs that the highest court in the country said were illegal from the start. The Treasury is paying back principal plus statutory interest, adding billions more to the final tab.
The broader implication is structural. The ruling drew a hard constitutional line. Emergency powers do not extend to setting trade policy. That authority belongs to Congress. Whatever trade framework comes next will have to go through the legislative process, not executive action.
