US Sends $100 Billion in Tariff Refunds to Businesses After Court Voids Trump Levies
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 22
US Sends $100 Billion in Tariff Refunds to Businesses After Court Voids Trump Levies
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 22
Summary
$100 billion in tariff refunds had been paid out by July 31 from $168 billion collected from 330,000 importers after the Supreme Court ruled Trump’s global tariffs illegal.
Walmart disclosed a $2.9 billion refund, Apple an estimated $2.2 billion, Target $994 million and Ford $1.3 billion, turning the repayments into a major quarterly boost for large companies.
Consumers are unlikely to recover much of the higher prices they paid because companies cannot easily trace tariff costs in retail pricing and are often using refunds to support margins or offset other costs.
Kyle Peacock estimated the average US household paid about $1,700 more in 2025 and 2026 because of tariffs, with only 15% to 20% likely to come back through refunds or lower prices.
Small businesses also got refunds, but often too little to undo the damage: Busy Baby received $50,000 after taking on $140,000 in credit-card debt, cutting half its staff and losing half its revenue.