Major corporations are beginning to see the first payments in what could become a massive $166 billion refund program following a Supreme Court decision that invalidated Trump-era import tariffs.
On Tuesday, heavy truck manufacturer Oshkosh Corp and toy company Basic Fun both announced they had received initial portions of the tariff refunds they requested after the nation’s highest court struck down the trade taxes earlier this year.
The payments represent a significant development in an ongoing legal and financial dispute. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that deemed the tariffs illegal, the federal government faces the task of returning up to $166 billion to businesses that paid the import taxes.
Jay Foreman, who leads Basic Fun – the company behind popular brands like Tonka trucks, Care Bears and K’Nex building sets – described the situation in practical terms. “The issue is will the funds flow like a river or fire hose or like a stream or garden hose,” Foreman wrote in an email message. “So far, the funds are trickling out but they have started.”
Foreman’s company received $400,000 as part of their total $7.4 million claim. While Oshkosh confirmed receiving partial payments, the Wisconsin-based company has not revealed the total amount they are seeking in refunds.
According to a Tuesday court document filed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency expects to distribute refunds totaling $35.46 billion covering 8.3 million individual shipments that were processed by 7 a.m. Eastern time on May 11.
However, this represents only a fraction of the total money scheduled to be returned to businesses nationwide.
CBP data from early April shows that importers had completed required paperwork for refunds worth $127 billion – representing more than three-quarters of all eligible refund money. The agency processed tariff payments from over 330,000 importing companies across 53 million separate shipments.
The refund process is creating a secondary wave of financial negotiations, as customers who absorbed higher prices due to the tariffs are now requesting their own refunds from the importing companies.
Jim Estill, who runs appliance importing business Danby, has not yet received government refunds but has already heard from two customers seeking their share of any future payments.
“When we get a refund, we’ll look at giving a refund to some of those customers,” Estill explained. “But we haven’t committed to anything because we haven’t received any refund yet.”
Estill pointed out that his company absorbed some of the original tariff costs rather than passing all expenses to customers, and that pursuing refunds involved additional expenses.
“We used a consultant to help us file this and they get a percentage of the refund,” he noted.
