U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a refund portal to importers Monday, beginning the return of up to $166 billion in tariff payments two months after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's Liberation Day duties as unconstitutional. The new system, known as CAPE, accepts consolidated electronic claims and is expected to take 60 to 90 days to process each refund after approval, the agency has said.
The rollout turns an abstract legal victory into cash flow. Refunds could begin reaching importers between mid-June and mid-July if companies file as soon as the portal opens, according to Michael Lowell, a partner at law firm Reed Smith who advises companies on trade. Monday's launch is the first phase, meaning not all importers or tariff categories qualify yet.
Who gets paid first
CBP's initial phase focuses on tariff payments that have not yet been finalized because they remain under federal review. Companies typically pay import duties when goods arrive at the border, and the agency's full customs review can take nearly a year. A Customs official told a federal judge on Tuesday that the vast majority of eligible importers had signed up for electronic payments, and that group is owed about $127 billion of the $166 billion total, NPR reported. Older, finalized tariff payments will be refunded in later phases as CBP builds out the system.
A CBP spokesperson said CAPE was developed "to efficiently process refunds" and directed brokers and importers to the agency's updated guidance. The agency has not disclosed how many claims it expects to handle on the first day.
Why shoppers probably will not see a check
Tariffs function as a tax on imports, with U.S. companies typically absorbing the upfront costs and passing them along through higher wholesale and retail prices. As a result, untangling what any individual shopper paid is difficult, economists and lawyers told NPR.
Shoppers have filed class-action lawsuits against Costco and FedEx seeking to recover tariff-related costs. FedEx has pledged to pass down any refunds it receives. Costco's chief executive told investors last month the company would return shoppers' money through "lower prices and better values" and would be transparent about its approach, according to NPR.
Retailers face a parallel problem: Many did not pay tariffs directly but paid higher wholesale prices to suppliers who did. "As a retailer, I didn't pay tariffs directly. However, I did pay them indirectly in the form of higher wholesale prices," Joe Kimray, owner of B & W Hardware in North Carolina, told NPR. Kimray said he plans to ask manufacturers to share some of their refund money through wholesale discounts.
Counterpoint: tariffs are not going away
The refund program does not end the tariff regime. After the Supreme Court ruled, the Trump administration imposed new tariffs under Section 122, a separate legal authority, and those are already facing their own court challenges, Lowell said.
"Tariffs are not going anywhere. That's clear. It's a central component of the administration's economic and trade policy," Lowell told Fox News. He added that duties imposed during Trump's first term largely survived through the Biden administration, and said companies should renegotiate contracts to spell out who pays duties and how any future refunds flow. Tariff revenues have hit record highs since Trump returned to office, according to Fox News.
Small-business advocacy group Main Street Alliance said in a statement that "Small businesses organized, spoke out, and won a major victory", adding that "the federal government must follow through with a refund process that truly works for Main Street", NPR reported.
The agency's next test comes when claim volume clears. If CBP holds to its 60-to-90-day processing window, the first wave of refund checks for still-open entries would move in June and July — a timeline importers can model, and one that will either vindicate or discredit the Trump administration's decision to build the system rather than leave importers to fight entry by entry in court.