April 20 (UPI) — The Trump administration will begin refunding $166 billion the government collected through tariffs, the Supreme Court ruled illegal.
The administration is beginning the first steps toward issuing refunds on Monday, using the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries program. Refunds are expected to be issued within 60 to 90 days of approval, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says.
President Donald Trump announced global tariffs more than a year ago, saying they would drive revenue and reset global trade more favorably for the United States. The revenue generated by those tariffs will be refunded with interest.
More than 330,000 importers had paid tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as of March, creating more than 53 million documented entries, the White House said.
Kevin Hassett, White House National Economic Council director, said in an interview on Fox News that the final amount the administration refunds may be lowered.
“There’s alternative authorities that perhaps could reduce that number quite a bit,” Hassett said.
Trump is the first president to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to apply tariffs.
Companies that paid tariffs can begin submitting documentation to receive their refunds on Monday. The only entities that will be eligible to receive refunds are importers of record or authorized customs brokers, effectively those who directly paid tariffs.
More than 3,000 businesses sued the Trump administration over the tariffs, including FedEx and Costco.
Millions of consumers who paid higher prices as a result of tariffs are not eligible to receive refunds.