Court ruling prompts $166B in tariff refunds for U.S. businesses

LELAND, N.C. (WWAY) — The administration began processing about $166 billion in tariff refunds to American businesses Monday, following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down the taxes as illegal.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, refunds will be issued to businesses that apply, but not to individual consumers.

The court ruled the tariffs, announced last April under the “International Emergency Economic Powers Act,” were not legally justified.

Local business owners say any financial relief may take time to reach customers.

“A realistic scenario is that some prices, you know flowing down the chain to the shelf will eventually get rolled back a little bit. That’s the optimistic case,” said Doug Zucker, owner of Bridgewater Wines.

Zucker added, “Everyone from the winery owner, to the importer, to the distributor, and certainly us, have worked as hard as we could to keep those end price increases as unobtrusive as possible. We know it’s not just happening in wine, but in furniture, electronics, whatever category. Everything has been going up.”

Businesses can submit refund requests through an online portal known as CAPE. Applications must be approved by Customs and Border Protection, with payments expected within 60 to 90 days.

Officials say more than 56,000 importers have already registered for the program.