- Over $160 billion in illegal tariffs will be refunded by the US government.
- Automotive firms, suppliers, and dealers will all benefit from the tariff refunds.
- More than 330,000 US importers paid tariffs on 53 million shipments of goods.
The automotive industry, like so many others, has been slapped with billions of dollars in tariffs under the Trump administration, prompting price increases across the market. However, after courts found the President had no authority to impose the tariffs in the first place, a system to issue refunds will open next week.
President Trump always claimed that tariffs are a tax on foreign countries, rather than importers and consumers. With US Customs and Border Protection rolling out its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system, it’s effectively admitting that this was never true and will refund importers slapped with tariffs. Not only that, but the administration needs to pay back tariffs with interest.
Read: The US Made $200 Billion From Trump’s Tariffs. Guess Who Paid 96%?
The first phase of the refund program, starting on April 20, will be for unliquidated entries and certain entries within ~80 days of liquidation that need funds fast. Other phases will refund the rest of the companies that paid the tariffs. Applicants will need to submit proof of all the ‘International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs that they paid. It’s understood that most refunds will be issued within 60-90 days of the application being accepted.
Importers Are Getting Paid
A total of $166 billion in tariffs was unlawfully imposed through the IEEPA. And of this, roughly $127 billion worth is expected to be refunded during the first phase of the program. Approximately 56,497 importers have already completed the process to receive their refunds.
Court documents from ongoing lawsuits in the Court of International Trade about the IEEPA tariffs reveal that more than 330,000 importers paid the tariffs on 53 million shipments of imported goods.
The refunds will provide an important cashflow boost for automotive suppliers and retailers, and they will also help dealers to reinvest in inventory and stabilize pricing strategies, CBT News reports.
