Trump Administration Warns Tariff Refunds May Take Years

The government must update a federal court on its timeline for returning roughly $166 billion in illegal duties.

Mar. 12, 2026 at 9:03am

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The Trump administration has warned that it could take the government as many as 4,431,161 hours to manually process all of the refund requests for the $166 billion in tariffs collected during the most punishing phase of Trump's trade war. The administration has already tried to slow the refund process in court, and Trump has maintained that it could take years to complete the legal wrangling over what the government owes.

Why it matters

The uncertainty around the tariff refund process has offered little comfort to the thousands of U.S. businesses caught in the middle of the legal clash over the president's trade powers. Tariffs are taxes on imports, so U.S. companies and consumers tend to foot the bill from Trump's duties, and now they are seeking repayment now that the Supreme Court has thrown out Trump's initial slate of tariffs.

The details

The government told a judge that to return all the money, it would need more time, as there were more than 53 million entries for goods that were subject to illegal duties. The administration has already tried to slow the refund process in court, and Trump has maintained that it could take years to complete the legal wrangling over what the government owes. The customs agency said a set of computer upgrades meant to facilitate refunds could be 'ready for use' by mid-April, which could speed up the process.

  • The Trump administration must provide its latest thinking about refunds by midday Thursday to the U.S. Court of International Trade.
  • The customs agency said the computer upgrades could be 'ready for use' by mid-April.

The players

Trump Administration

The current presidential administration led by former President Donald Trump, which imposed steep global tariffs that were later struck down by the Supreme Court.

U.S. Court of International Trade

The federal court that ordered the Trump administration to provide an update on its timeline for returning the $166 billion in tariffs.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

The U.S. government agency that manages the collection and refund of tariffs, and is working on computer upgrades to facilitate the refund process.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“The law is clear, that the IEEPA duties were unlawfully imposed. The law is equally clear there is nothing particularly novel about the provision of refunds.”

— Judge Richard K. Eaton, U.S. Court of International Trade Judge

“Forty-five days is an aspirational time to have this set up, and there was no real detail about what expected timelines look like from there. That uncertainty still causes a lot of concern.”

— Dan Anthony, Executive Director, We Pay the Tariffs

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Thursday whether to allow the Trump administration more time to process the tariff refunds.

The takeaway

The tariff refund process is proving to be a complex and lengthy endeavor, with the Trump administration warning it could take years to complete. This highlights the challenges businesses face in recouping the costs of the president's trade war policies, and raises concerns about the government's willingness to quickly return the $166 billion in unlawfully collected duties.