The United States has processed refunds worth about USD 100 billion for tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade measures after they were struck down by the US Supreme Court, according to a court filing by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The exercise marks one of the largest tariff refund 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 this year. The amount processed accounts for more than half of the nearly USD 166 billion collected through 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 USD 128.68 billion in both potential and certified refunds have been accepted for processing in CAPE,” Lord said in the declaration filed before the US Court of International Trade.
He added that refunds, including duties and interest, amounting to around USD 100 billion had been processed through the CAPE Refund component, certified by CBP and forwarded to the US Department of the Treasury for disbursement.
“Of this total amount, refunds (duties plus interest) of approximately USD 100 billion have been completed using the CAPE Refund component, certified by the agency, and sent to the U.S. Department of the 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 had passed file validation.
The refunds stem from a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s use of the IEEPA to impose sweeping tariffs, a policy that became a key pillar of Trump’s trade and foreign policy agenda.
In February, the US Supreme Court ruled that the President lacked the authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad import tariffs on goods from nearly all US trading partners.
In a 6-3 majority decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court held that the IEEPA does not authorise the President to levy tariffs.
In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the ruling could have significant immediate consequences, including multi-billion-dollar refunds to importers.
“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,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote.
-ANI
