Plan surfaces for $166 billion in tariff reimbursements. However, don't expect it to happen soon.

Automated Tariff Refund System Could Launch Soon

An automated platform capable of handling at least $166 billion in tariff reimbursements may be operational within 45 days, according to a senior official from US Customs and Border Protection. This digital solution would replace a manual process estimated to require 4 million hours of work.

Despite this progress, there is still uncertainty about when the more than 330,000 American importers who paid these tariffs—imposed under President Donald Trump’s trade policies—will actually receive their refunds.

Supreme Court Decision Spurs New Refund Process

Last month, the Supreme Court overturned most of the broad tariffs introduced by Trump. In a recent court statement, Brandon Lord, Executive Director of Trade Policy and Programs at CBP, explained that the agency is working diligently to implement a streamlined, automated refund process that will require minimal input from importers and could be ready in 45 days.

These system upgrades are essential to handle the extraordinary number of refunds the Court of International Trade has ordered CBP to process this week.

Major companies such as Nintendo, Costco, and FedEx, along with thousands of other firms, had previously taken legal action to recover tariff payments. However, with the new system, importers will instead submit declarations listing all instances where they paid the now-invalidated duties. The government will then review these submissions to determine the appropriate refund amounts.

“CBP will issue instructions on how to submit refund declarations using the new system,” Lord stated.

Trade attorney Matt McGill, a partner at King & Spalding, described the development as “very positive news for importers.”

Timeline for Refunds Remains Unclear

In a 13-page court document filed Friday, Lord did not provide a timeline for when importers might actually receive their refunds, even if they follow all the outlined procedures.

Before this filing, the Trump administration had not specified how refunds would be processed, often deferring to lower courts since the Supreme Court’s decision did not address the issue directly.

Following the court’s ruling, Trump told reporters he expected the matter to be tied up in litigation for two years and estimated it could take up to five years for refunds to be distributed.