U.S. importers moved fast after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. By May 22, Customs and Border Protection had accepted refund applications covering $85 billion of the estimated $166 billion in duties the government collected. That filing pace, reaching more than half the total in a matter of weeks, has set up a direct collision between businesses seeking their money back and the Trump administration, which plans to appeal the court order that opened the refund window to all affected importers.
Why the $85 billion filing rush changes the refund fight
The speed of filings signals that companies with established customs infrastructure acted almost immediately once CBP began accepting applications through its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system, known as CAPE. CBP deployed CAPE on April 20, 2026, specifically to handle IEEPA-related refunds, and the agency has already directed $20.6 billion toward the Treasury for processing. That figure represents real money moving through government accounts, not just paperwork.
The sheer volume of early applications raises a practical question: which importers are actually getting through the door? Large retailers and logistics firms typically maintain dedicated ACE portal accounts and customs brokerage teams that can file complex refund claims within days of a policy change. Smaller importers, many of whom paid the same tariffs on goods they brought in during the collection period, face a steeper path. CBP’s CAPE enrollment rules require specific electronic account credentials, and disputes have already emerged over who qualifies to apply and how the agency screens submissions. No public breakdown exists showing the $85 billion in accepted filings by company size or sector, so the distribution of early refunds across the importer population is not yet clear.
CBP filings and the $166 billion at stake
The $85 billion figure comes directly from a CBP legal filing cited in court proceedings. The agency confirmed that applications accepted for processing had reached that total as of May 22, measured against the $166 billion the government estimates it owes to importers who paid the now-invalidated duties. The Trump administration plans to appeal the order that allowed all importers, not just those who were parties to the original lawsuit, to seek refunds on struck-down tariffs. If that appeal succeeds, the pool of eligible claimants could shrink dramatically, potentially leaving billions in filed claims in limbo.
The gap between $85 billion in accepted applications and $20.6 billion directed to Treasury shows that acceptance does not equal payment. CBP is still reviewing claims, and the accounting treatment of the Treasury-bound funds has not been publicly detailed. Importers who filed early have no guarantee of a timeline for receiving actual refunds, especially with active litigation threatening to alter the rules mid-process. Lawyers following the case say CBP could be forced to pause or even reverse some approvals if higher courts limit eligibility after the fact.
Unresolved disputes over eligibility and payment timing
Several open questions will shape how the refund fight plays out. The first is who, exactly, counts as an eligible importer. Some companies buy goods under delivered-duty-paid contracts, meaning a foreign supplier technically paid the tariff even though the U.S. buyer ultimately bore the cost. Others rely on third-party customs brokers who appear as the importer of record. CBP has not issued detailed public guidance on how such layered arrangements will be treated, leaving businesses to guess whether their claims will survive scrutiny.
A second dispute involves the cut-off dates for filing. The court order opened the door to all affected importers, but it did not spell out how long that door must remain open. Trade groups argue that smaller firms need more time to reconstruct historical entry data and assemble supporting documentation, while government lawyers contend that an open-ended window would be unmanageable. If the Trump administration’s appeal succeeds in narrowing the class of eligible claimants or imposing stricter deadlines, companies that moved slowly could find themselves excluded despite having paid the same unlawful duties.
Payment timing is equally uncertain. CBP has said little in public about how it will prioritize claims if refund obligations approach the full $166 billion. Some importers worry that the agency could adopt a “last in, first out” approach that effectively rewards those who wait until the legal dust settles, while others fear that early filers could be paid first and later applicants left to fight over whatever remains after Congress reacts to the budget impact. Until CBP publishes a clear processing protocol, each new filing adds to a queue whose rules are still being written.
Political and budget stakes for the administration
The administration’s legal strategy is shaped by more than just technical customs law. Refunding the full $166 billion would amount to a large, unexpected outflow from the Treasury, complicating budget planning and potentially forcing trade-offs elsewhere in federal spending. Advisers have warned that large, highly visible refunds to multinational retailers could be politically sensitive, especially if smaller importers feel shut out of the process.
That backdrop helps explain why officials have signaled they will continue to fight in court even as CBP processes claims. According to one account of the administration’s internal debate, senior aides are trying to balance the risk of defying the Supreme Court against the optics of writing what opponents would portray as corporate rebate checks. The same tensions surfaced earlier in the tariff saga, when the White House weighed using IEEPA to expand duties despite warnings from career lawyers about legal vulnerabilities documented in contemporaneous memos.
For now, importers face a narrow but significant window: file quickly under rules that may soon change, or hold back and risk being shut out if the appeal succeeds. The $85 billion already in the system shows that many have decided speed is the safer bet, even if no one yet knows how much of that money will ever make its way back to their balance sheets.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
