Refund Battles Heat Up as Courts, Companies, and Governors Push Back
Nine months after the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs in Learning Resources v. Trump, the path to repayment remains tangled in legal and bureaucratic disputes — and new trade measures are keeping prices elevated for ordinary Americans.
On the legal front, UPS has filed a lawsuit directly against U.S. Customs and Border Protection over its handling of IEEPA tariff refunds, according to WWD. The case signals growing impatience among major corporations with the pace and process of reimbursement. CBP has faced criticism for slow processing times and inconsistent guidance since the February ruling, and UPS's move could set an important precedent for how other large shippers pursue recovery of duties paid during the tariff period.
The Tax Foundation is raising a broader question that many consumers are asking: if the Supreme Court ruled the IEEPA tariffs unconstitutional months ago, why are Americans still paying elevated prices at the register? The answer, according to the Foundation, lies in a combination of replacement tariff mechanisms the Trump administration has pursued through other legal authorities, lingering supply chain adjustments, and the sheer complexity of unwinding tariff schedules that were baked into pricing across global supply chains. The refund process itself, while underway, has not translated into immediate consumer relief.
That frustration is now reaching the state level. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials to both end ongoing tariffs and issue grocery reimbursements for Michigan residents facing higher food costs, according to The Hill. Whitmer argued that "unpredictable federal tariff policy" has left residents absorbing price increases that have yet to reverse despite the court ruling. Her push reflects a growing trend of state executives demanding direct action after the federal government's response to the ruling has fallen short of expectations for many households.
On a more forward-looking note, some businesses are already putting their refund dollars to work. WWD reports that several footwear companies have begun receiving IEEPA tariff refunds and are deploying those funds into operations — covering inventory costs, investing in domestic sourcing, or stabilizing pricing for retailers and consumers. The footwear sector was among the hardest hit by the original tariff structure, and these early refunds offer a glimpse of how industries may gradually recover margin lost during the tariff period.
What to Watch: The UPS lawsuit against CBP is worth tracking closely — a court order compelling faster or more standardized refund processing could accelerate timelines for thousands of pending claims. Governor Whitmer's pressure campaign may also gain traction if other state executives join in; a coordinated multi-state push would be harder for the Treasury Department to ignore. And with the Tax Foundation's analysis circulating widely, Congress may face renewed pressure to hold hearings on what tariff authorities remain in place post-ruling and whether legislative guardrails are needed. Expect the refund processing backlog to remain a central flashpoint heading into the new year.
— The Tariff.news desk