The federal government will activate its new tariff reimbursement program this Monday, designed to return $166 billion to American businesses that paid duties later deemed illegal by the nation’s highest court.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday in court documents that its new electronic refund platform, called CAPE, has finished initial development and is ready for deployment. The streamlined system will bundle refund payments into single electronic transfers with applicable interest, eliminating the previous entry-by-entry processing method.
Brandon Lord, a Customs official, confirmed the system’s readiness in documents submitted to the New York-based Court of International Trade. The agency separately revealed the April 20 launch date in a Friday announcement.
The Supreme Court determined in February that former President Trump exceeded his executive powers when implementing broad international tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, legislation from 1977 designed specifically for national crisis situations.
According to Tuesday’s court submission, approximately 56,497 importing companies had registered for electronic reimbursements by April 9, representing $127 billion in eligible refunds from the court’s decision.
Officials plan to implement the refund program gradually across multiple phases.
Lord noted in his statement that the agency is evaluating approaches for handling refunds on certain shipments totaling $2.9 billion in tariffs. He explained these cases typically require individual manual review, which would significantly increase staff workload and redirect personnel from essential trade oversight and enforcement duties.
Following the Supreme Court’s February ruling, importing companies filed lawsuits in the Court of International Trade seeking reimbursement, with that court now overseeing the refund system’s implementation.
Court records show more than 330,000 importing businesses paid the contested tariffs across 53 million shipments of foreign goods.
Customs officials stated the CAPE platform will initially handle refunds for recent imports and uncomplicated entries.
Numerous smaller importing companies worried that pursuing refunds might cost more than the potential reimbursement amounts, leading some businesses to seek alternative financing arrangements related to their refund claims.
Trump criticized the Supreme Court following its February decision and subsequently implemented new temporary global tariffs under different legal authority, though those measures also face court challenges.
