Washington DC – President Donald Trump's administration was forced to pay out over $20 billion in tariff refunds after its central trade policy was struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
In the months since the Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariff policy, the federal government has been forced to pay out approximately $20.6 billion in refunds to US importers.
Customs and Border Protection still has another $85 billion in potential and certified refunds to process.
The numbers were first reported by NBC News, citing a court filing entered on Tuesday by Brandon Lord, CBP's executive director of trade programs.
Payments have been made to hundreds of companies that were forced to pay exorbitant levies on goods and services imported into the US.
Trump had justified the immense tariff regime as "Liberation Day" for the US. While they started at a base rate of 10%, the tariffs were used as a weapon against hundreds of countries and, in some cases, even exceeded 100%.
When the Supreme Court struck down the tariff policy earlier this year, Trump countered by announcing his intention to launch a 15% blanket tariff on the world.
According to Jay Foreman, the CEO of Toymaker Basic Fun, the refunds have been sporadic and unclear. To date, his company has only received $525,000 of the $7.4 million that it's owed.
"It seems there is no method to this and no statements of why, how, and when they are paying," Foreman told the New York Post.
"It's time to release the funds back into the economy, especially given how much we and others need these funds to support our businesses and fund our operations."