The Supreme Court Voided These Tariffs in February. Sixty-Six Billion Dollars Has Not Gone Back.

The Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in February. Six months later, about $66 billion of the money collected under them still has not been returned.

Roughly $166 billion was collected. About $100 billion has been refunded. Of what remains, approximately $29 billion sits in refund requests that have already been accepted for processing and are awaiting action.

Where the Case Stands

The ruling came in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump. The tariffs were found unlawful, which made the money collected under them refundable rather than optional to return.

The refunds have been moving, and $100 billion is not a small share. But 40 percent of the total is still at Treasury half a year after the decision, including a block of claims the government has already agreed are valid.

Who Actually Gets the Money

This is the part most likely to be misread, and it matters.

The refunds go to importers, the companies that paid the tariffs at the border. They do not go to shoppers who paid higher prices on the goods those tariffs touched. There is no consumer refund mechanism here, and no household will receive a check because of this ruling.

What the ruling did was invalidate the authority the tariffs were imposed under. The money flows back to whoever wrote it to the government.

The Question That Is Still Open

A court ruled the collection unlawful. Two-thirds of the money has been returned. The remaining third includes claims the administration has accepted and not yet paid.

Nothing in the ruling set a deadline for finishing, which is why a decided case is still producing a running total six months on.

What to Watch

The next figure worth watching is whether the $29 billion in accepted requests clears, because that is the portion where the dispute is over and only the payment is outstanding.

References: SCOTUSblog