US to kick off tariff refunds process next week

The US government has informed the New York-based Court of International Trade that it will launch a system next Monday to issue refunds totaling $166 billion to American importers.

US Customs and Border Protection said in a court filing Tuesday that it has completed the development of the initial phase of the refund system, known as CAPE. Each importer will receive a single electronic payment with interest.

The agency plans to roll out the refund system in phases. More than 330,000 importers have paid tariffs on 53 million shipments of imported goods, according to court documents.

As of April 9, some 56,497 eligible importers had completed the process to receive electronic refunds for tariffs, totaling $127 billion, according to Tuesday's filing.

The US Supreme Court ruled in February that US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are unconstitutional, officially striking down the global tariffs Trump has introduced since April 2025.

Despite the start of the tariff refunds process, consumers shouldn't expect to get any money back. According to the latest CNBC CFO Council quarterly survey, while 12 of the 25 chief financial officers said their company plans to apply for tariff refunds, none said they intend to directly share that money with customers.