Congressional Democrats seek to force refunds

A group of Senate Democrats released legislation on Monday that would mandate refunds of tariffs paid under President Donald Trump’s higher duties that the Supreme Court struck down on Friday.

The legislation, led by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, follows the Supreme Court’s momentous 6-3 decision on Friday ruling against a majority of Trump’s tariffs.

“Trump’s illegal tax scheme has already done lasting damage to American families, small businesses and manufacturers who have been hammered by wave after wave of new Trump tariffs,” Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement.

“Senate Democrats will continue fighting to rein in Donald Trump’s price-hiking trade and economic policies. A crucial first step is helping people who need it most, by putting money back in the pockets of small businesses and manufacturers as soon as possible,” he said.

The White House had no immediate comment on Monday.

The U.S. government could be on the hook for more than $175 billion in refunds to importers, according to an estimate from the Penn Wharton Budget Model, which was produced at the request of the Reuters news wire service.

The majority Supreme Court opinion on Friday did not directly reference tariff refunds. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a dissenting opinion, quoted from oral arguments that the refund process was likely to be a “‘mess.'”

“The United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others,” Kavanaugh wrote, referring to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the 1977 law that the president used to impose sweeping tariffs without congressional authorization last year.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in an interview on Fox News on Friday said refunds would be a logistical nightmare.

“This could take years to litigate and get to a payout,” he said. “If there is a payout, it looks like it’s just going to be the ultimate corporate welfare. What you don’t know, did a Chinese supplier lower their price? Did they lower their price because of the tariff. The product came into the U.S. They paid the same price but they’re going to get a refund on the tariff.”

House Democrats are also trying to compel refunds.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., on Friday introduced a bill with a similar aim in the House. Democrats are seizing on the issue — which has proven unpopular even within the ranks of the congressional GOP — ahead of a closely watched midterm election. But neither proposal has a clear path to passage with Republican majorities in both chambers and the White House’s steadfast commitment to tariffs.

The Senate bill would require Customs and Border Protection to pay refunds of all tariffs imposed using Trump’s novel reading of IEEPA.

CBP would have 180 days after enactment to process all refunds with interest and to prioritize payments to small businesses when possible. It also directs importers, wholesalers and large corporations to pass those refunds on to their customers.

“President Trump’s reckless and chaotic tariffs have only caused uncertainty and pain — raising prices on consumers and businesses when they can least afford it,” Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “Now that the Supreme Court has made it clear that the President did not have the authority to unilaterally impose sweeping emergency tariffs, it’s critical that American families and small businesses get the relief they need.”