Washington, August 6 (ANI): The United States has processed refunds totaling approximately USD 100 billion from President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs after they were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a court filing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The refunds mark one of the largest tariff reimbursement efforts in the agency’s history.
The refunds relate to additional ad valorem duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court invalidated in February. The amount processed represents more than half of the approximately USD 166 billion in tariffs affected by the Court’s ruling.
According to a declaration filed by Brandon Lord, executive director of the Trade Programs Directorate at CBP’s Office of Trade, the agency developed a new capability within its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) platform to calculate and process eligible refunds.
The new functionality, known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), became available to importers and customs brokers on April 20, 2026.
“As of 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, July 31, 2026, approximately $128.68 billion in both potential and certified refunds have been accepted for processing in CAPE,” Lord stated in the declaration filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade.
He added that refunds totaling approximately USD 100 billion, including duties and interest, had been completed through the CAPE Refund component, certified by CBP, and sent to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for disbursement.
“Of this total amount, refunds (duties plus interest) of approximately $100 billion have been completed using the CAPE Refund component, certified by the agency, and sent to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) for disbursement,” the filing stated.
CBP said the CAPE system has processed hundreds of thousands of refund declarations since its launch. As of July 31, 2026, 252,496 CAPE declarations had been submitted, of which 178,213 passed file validation.
The tariff refunds stem from a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s use of the IEEPA to impose certain tariffs, a policy that became a central component of Trump’s trade and foreign policy agenda.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president lacked authority under the 1977 IEEPA to impose sweeping import duties on goods from nearly all U.S. trading partners.
The Court held that the IEEPA does not grant the president the authority to levy tariffs. The nine-member Court ruled 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts authoring the majority opinion.
In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the ruling could have significant immediate consequences, including multibillion-dollar refunds.
“In the meantime, however, the interim effects of the Court’s decision could be substantial. The United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others,” Kavanaugh wrote in his dissent. (ANI)
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