NEW YORK – Businesses across the nation, from large corporations to small enterprises, have started receiving tariff refunds following a U.S. Supreme Court decision stating that President Donald Trump overstepped his constitutional bounds by imposing increased import taxes on goods from nearly all other countries.
However, this refund process may soon face delays. The Trump administration announced on Friday its intent to appeal a federal judge’s order that would allow all companies, not just those that filed lawsuits, to claim refunds on the invalidated tariffs.
Before the Department of Justice declared its appeal intentions, the refund system managed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection was functioning relatively smoothly. The first round of successful applicants saw refunds deposited into their accounts on May 12, roughly three weeks after the submission period for claims began, according to CBP.
As of May 22, applications for refunds amounting to $85 billion—more than half of the $166 billion the government owes companies due to these tariffs—had been accepted for processing, CBP stated in a recent legal filing. Additionally, the agency reported directing the Treasury Department to disburse $20.6 billion in refunds so far.
The administration disclosed its appeal plans while contesting Judge Richard K. Eaton’s demand for CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to testify in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The judge seeks to understand the timeline for repaying all 330,000 importers potentially eligible for refunds. A hearing is set for June 9 to discuss why the government shouldn’t be required to expedite the repayment process.
Lawyers from the Justice Department requested that one or two of Scott’s deputies appear instead, claiming that as a senior presidential appointee, the CBP Commissioner should not be mandated to testify in court. They also argued that Eaton overstepped his bounds when he ruled in March that the Supreme Court’s decision entitled “all importers of record” to refunds.
“For that reason, defendants intend to appeal the court’s universal injunction,” the lawyers wrote, adding that CBP would continue to move “as quicky as it can to process refunds in a phased approach” for businesses that filed some 485 pending trade court complaints to assert their rights to refunds.
In a terse reply Friday, Eaton said he needed to hear directly from Scott whether the government would return all of the money it collected between when Trump put what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries in April 2025 and when the Supreme Court struck them down in late February.
“This case involves $166 billion,” the judge wrote. “It is undisputed that the remedy for this unlawful collection is for the United States government to refund the unlawfully collected duties.”
Some national retail chains said they planned to use their tariff refunds refunds to lower customer prices on some items. Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told analysts last week that the company would implement price cuts even though the maximum refund it might be eligible for represented less than half of 1% of Walmart’s $483 billion in annual U.S. sales.
Some smaller companies told The Associated Press that the partial refunds they’ve received so far would go toward paying remaining or future tariffs, reducing debt or just keeping the lights on after more than a year of uncertainty and additional import costs.
Jay Foreman, CEO of toy company Basic Fun, said he received about $450,000, or 7% of his total claim, over two consecutive days this month. He took the initial repayment as a positive sign but said that after having less than $10,000 refunded since then, the process seemed like a “total slow roll.”
“It’s time to release the funds back into the economy, especially given how much we and others need these funds to support our businesses and fund our operations,” Foreman said.
