Companies hit with Trump's illegal tariffs can apply for refunds starting next week
Starting Monday, businesses hit with illegal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and subsequently struck down by the United States Supreme Court will be able to apply for their money back.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is launching a new portal, called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), through which importers of record and customs brokers can apply for refunds.
On Feb. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify imposing tariffs on Canada and dozens of other countries.
As of March 4, CBP had collected approximately US$166 billion in IEEPA tariffs paid by 330,000 importers across 53 million customs entries, according to filings with the U.S. Court of International Trade.
The agency said in a filing on April 14 that up to 82 per cent of customs entries with IEEPA duty payments, worth US$127 billion, are eligible to receive refunds electronically.
“CAPE is designed to consolidate refunds of IEEPA duties, including interest, rather than processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis,” CBP said on its website. “CBP plans to implement CAPE through a phased development approach, adding more functionality in subsequent phases for more complicated scenarios.”
The first phase will accept requests for refunds on liquidated customs entries that have been finalized within the last 80 days and on unliquidated entries that are still open and under review.
CBP said more than 56,400 importers have registered to receive refunds as of April 9.
Jesse Mitchell, director of business development for customs brokerage Strader-Ferris International, estimates that at least 200 of his firm’s Canadian client companies will be filing for IEEPA tariff refunds and are eager to start the process of recouping their money.
Mitchell said while the filing process looks relatively straightforward, it will generally be easier for U.S.-based companies that have American bank accounts, which is a requirement to receive refunds through CAPE.
Canadian companies often act as the importer of record on U.S.-bound shipments and pay all customs and duties to make it easier for American customers to buy their products, Mitchell said. Many work with U.S. customs brokerages to manage the clearance process on their behalf, which can include handling the payment of U.S. duties, tariffs and taxes.
Mitchell said Canadian companies will need to get a U.S. bank account or work with their customs brokerage to get their refund. The process will also be more complicated for businesses that work with multiple brokerages to handle different types of shipments.
“If they have a lot of volume, that’s a lot of tariffs that could have been paid by each of those companies,” said Mitchell. “Coordinating the refunds between all the companies, if they need to use the brokers to file, will take time.”
CBP said that once a claim is approved, refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days.
While there’s more work ahead for Canadian companies and customs brokerages, Mitchell said the new portal is good news for businesses that paid IEEPA tariffs.
“It seems like things are moving in a very positive direction, and the money is going to start flowing out to companies very soon,” he said.
• Email: jswitzer@postmedia.com