Tariff Refunds—What to Know
It’s still early and while we will learn more about the refund process in the days ahead, the U.S. Chamber is providing information to help small businesses identify whether they paid IEEPA based tariffs, understand what types of duties may be eligible for refunds, and prepare for the emerging refund process.
Tariff Refund FAQs: The U.S. Chamber has compiled Tariff Refund FAQs for small businesses to help determine if you’re eligible for a refund and how the process might work.
First, refunds are only available for tariffs applied under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). This includes tariffs commonly known as “fentanyl,” “trafficking,” “reciprocal,” or “baseline” tariffs, as well as some other tariffs applied to goods from Brazil and India.
Refunds are not available for so-called Section 232, Section 301, Section 201, anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs), or most-favored nation (MFN) tariffs. To determine the legal authority under which tariffs you have paid were applied, consult your customs broker, counsel, or government sources.
Caution: There will likely be scammers and fraudsters who try to take advantage of the confusion over tariff refunds after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. Please only work with well-established, legitimate customs brokers to navigate the tariff refund landscape.
Time for a reset: In response to the Court’s decision, the U.S. Chamber is calling for a “reset” of U.S. tariff policy.
“Swift refunds of the impermissible tariffs will be meaningful for the more than 200,000 small business importers in this country and will help support stronger economic growth this year… We encourage the administration to use this opportunity to reset overall tariff policy in a manner that will lead to greater economic growth, larger wage gains for workers, and lower costs for families,” said Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The U.S. Chamber participated in the Supreme Court case by filing an amicus brief in Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc. arguing that the challenged tariffs were enacted in excess of statutory authority and are causing “irreparable harm to businesses of all sizes.”
Explaining the decision: In a new video explainer, Bradley breaks down the recent Supreme Court decision on tariffs and its implications for small businesses.
He explains that the global tariffs imposed under IEEPA, which ranged from 10% to 50%, are no longer in effect, although others do remain in effect.
Bradley explained that the administration quickly moved to reinstate tariffs using different legal mechanisms. He notes that while these new tariffs are temporary, they create uncertainty for businesses, as the administration has indicated it will use the next 150 days to investigate and potentially impose tariffs under other authorities.
What’s next?: The U.S. Chamber is committed to keeping our small business members up to date on tariffs, refunds, and other developments in this space as they become clearer.