The Trump administration has begun processing refunds for billions of dollars in tariffs that the US Supreme Court struck down in February.
In what is to be the biggest repayment programme in history, companies can apply online for money they were charged under the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs – plus interest – to be returned.
The US Court of International Trade in March ordered customs officials to refund the more than $160bn (£121bn) the government had collected, putting roughly 330,000 importers in a position to potentially win back some money.
But some individual consumers, who were hit by the tariffs indirectly through higher prices, are not expected to be compensated.
The refunds relate to levies charged by US President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit” from the high court’s ruling, Judge Richard Eaton wrote in March.
As of early April, more than 56,000 importers had completed the necessary steps to apply for refunds online when the portal opened, with their claims worth $127bn (£943m).
The portal, known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (Cape), went live on Monday.
