US Senate Democrats introduce bill to force refunds of Trump tariffs deemed illegal
The legislation would require Customs and Border Protection, which collects tariffs at U.S. ports of entry, to prioritize small businesses. While the Supreme Court on Friday struck down sweeping tariffs Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), it did not order any refunds, instead sending the case to a lower trade court to determine next steps.
Democrats’ legislation would require CBP to refund all IEEPA-based tariffs illegally imposed by Trump, plus interest, even if the import duties were finalized or “liquidated” by CBP. The 22 Democrats who co-sponsored the bill included Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrats on the Senate Finance, Small Business and Foreign Relations committees, respectively.
“Senate Democrats will continue to fight to rein in Donald Trump’s price-raising trade and economic policies,” Wyden said in a statement. “A crucial first step is to help the people who need it most by putting money back into the pockets of small businesses and manufacturers as quickly as possible.”
A spokesman for Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota declined to comment on whether the Democrats’ bill would be considered.
However, given that the bill has only just been introduced and must go through committee review, a decision on the evaluation is likely to be remote. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that the Republican-controlled House will steer clear of the question about returning tariff revenues.
“The White House will solve this problem, and we must give them the time and space to do it. This is an unprecedented event, of course, so there is no playbook to follow,” said Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. “I think the White House has good arguments on its side, and we’ll see how this plays out. It’s not really something that concerns the House at this point.”The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legislation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the administration would follow the lower courts’ ruling on the refunds. “We will follow their decisions, but it could be weeks or months before we hear from them,” Bessent told CNN.
CBP will cease collection of IEEPA tariffs at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. Reuters reported on Friday that the Supreme Court decision makes more than $175 billion in IEEPA tariff collections subject to potential refunds, based on an estimate by economists with the Penn-Wharton Budget Model.
Estimates from the base forecasting model showed that IEEPA-based tariffs generate more than $500 million in gross revenue per day.
