America may be owed $1 trillion in refunds
Economists urged SCOTUS to intervene and block Trump’s attempt to seize the authority to impose unlimited reciprocal tariffs – arguing that the economic impact “is predicted to be far greater than the two programs” SCOTUS had previously struck down, including the Biden administration’s $50 billion plan for student loan forgiveness.
In September, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant warned the justices that “if the Court waits until next summer before ruling whether the tariffs must be repaid, the amount to be repaid could be between $750 billion and $1 trillion,” CNBC reported.
During oral arguments, Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised concerns that reducing Trump’s tariffs could be “messy,” CNBC reported.
However, some business owners — who joined the We Pay Tariff Coalition that is considering the SCOTUS case — told CNBC they think it could be relatively straightforward, because customs forms have line items that indicate what tariff was paid. He suggested that businesses could also be paid in a lump sum or in future credits.
Rick Muscat, CEO of family-run shoe company Dearstags, told CNBC that his company has paid more than $1 million in tariffs so far, but “it should be easier for importers to apply for a refund based on this tariff item.” If the IRS can issue refunds for tax overpayments, U.S. Customs should also have “no problem,” he suggested — especially since the agency automatically refunded refunds to U.S. importers without any problems during the 2018 conflict, CNBC reported.
However, if there is no automatic refund, things can become tricky. Filing the paperwork required to challenge various tariffs can be “time-consuming and difficult” for some businesses, particularly businesses dealing with large shipments where only certain products may have been taxed.
Also at issue is that some countries’ tariffs — like China — changed “several times,” Joyce Adetutu, a partner at law firm Vinson & Elkins, told CNBC. “It will take a lot of time and be an administrative burden to sort all this out,” Adetutu said.