US Domestic — 2026-08-06

Trump Administration Refunds $100 Billion in Tariffs Struck Down by Supreme Court

BLUFCBP will very likely finish disbursing at least $129 billion in IEEPA refunds by end of 2026, but parallel replacement tariff authorities ensure aggregate duty burdens on importers keep climbing.

A U.S. Court of International Trade filing on Tuesday, reported by CBP Trade Programs Directorate official Brandon Lord, disclosed that the Trump administration has refunded roughly $100 billion in duties collected under the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February 12. The figure represents about 60 percent of the roughly $166 billion the government says it collected under those International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, which the Court ruled Trump lacked authority to impose 13. CBP's CAPE processing system had received 252,496 refund declarations covering more than 25 million import entries as of July 31, with nearly $129 billion in "potential and certified refunds" accepted for processing, of which about $100 billion has been completed and sent to Treasury for disbursement 1. Democratic Congressman Greg Casar said this week that the refunds are going to corporate importers rather than "working people" 3.

Analysis
CBP's court-ordered CAPE pipeline is processing at scale, certifying $100 billion of the roughly $129 billion accepted for refund within about four months, and will very likely complete disbursement of the remaining accepted total by the end of 2026, with continued Freestyle World litigation oversight sustaining pressure to stay on schedule. Moderate confidence reflects consistent reporting on CAPE's processing pace but no visibility into bottlenecks facing the more than 330,000 importers still outside the certified pool. The pace may equally reflect an effort to defuse pressure from that class action and forestall further judicial sanction rather than routine throughput, and completion runs parallel to, not against, the administration's buildout of replacement Section 301 and Section 122 tariff authorities. Falling short of the $129 billion mark by year end would hand Freestyle World plaintiffs grounds to press for court sanctions and Democrats leverage for refund-allocation legislation.

4 sources

Trump admin refunds $100 billion in 'liberation day' tariffs - CNBC
Trump administration refunds $100B in 'liberation day' tariffs - UPI
US refunds $100 billion in tariffs struck down by Supreme Court, filing shows - Yahoo Finance
US Refunds $100 Billion in Tariffs Struck Down by Supreme Court, Filing Shows - U.S. News & World Report