The Trump administration this week outlined a four-step tariff refund process that could be ready for companies to begin using by later this spring.
The plans were included in a court filing to the US Court of International Trade from Brandon Lord, the executive director of the US Customs and Border Protection’s trade policy department.
The four steps — a claim portal, a “mass processing” step, a review of refund findings, and a final step where “the refunds will be sent electronically to the designated bank account” — are currently being built, with the components 40% to 80% complete, Lord said.
The name of the system will be the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal. In the six-page filing, Lord expressed hope that the web-based platform will be able to process most refund requests in this “first phase of development” before more functionality is later added for more complicated scenarios.
Performance testing of the platform is set to take place in the coming weeks. Another government filing last week said that the overall system aims to be ready for use in 45 days.
This more detailed description of the plan from the Trump administration comes after Senior Judge Richard Eaton of the Manhattan-based trade court issued an order that the government must grant refunds for all illegally collected tariffs.
The Trump administration had previously sought to put the refund question aside entirely for three months but is now offering regular updates as it develops a refund process for the thousands of companies seeking this tariff money back.
At stake is an estimated $166 billion in tariffs collected over the last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court ruled illegal in February.
Eaton has said that companies are entitled not just to refunds but also interest on those payments. He responded this week with satisfaction at the government’s progress and asked for another update next week.
Businesses — and their customers — demand refunds
The push for tariff refunds further escalated this week after a Costco (COST) customer proposed a nationwide class-action lawsuit in federal court in Illinois based on the idea that the company must return any refunds it receives directly to customers.
Costco filed suit for its own refund even before the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The political pressure for refunds has also been on the rise with new polling — conducted by left-leaning groups Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress — finding that about 80% of likely US voters say that tariff refunds should be issued.
The vast majority of respondents to that poll also felt that American consumers should get some form of direct relief as part of the process.
The Trump administration further laid the groundwork this week for new permanent tariffs to take effect as soon as this summer on dozens of foreign countries.
The formal launch this week of so-called Section 301 investigations targeted nations around the globe, from the European Union to Canada to China and dozens more.
These investigations are aimed at unlocking President Trump’s ability to implement new tariffs that will replace current duties set to expire this summer.
