The Supreme Court’s February 2026 ruling that the Trump administration lacked authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) has set in motion legal developments that demand attention from every importer and their customers. The federal refund process is getting underway, with the Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) moving toward returning an estimated $175 billion in tariff payments to some 330,000 importers. At the same time downstream customers are increasingly filing lawsuits to recover tariff costs that importers allegedly passed on to them. Whether a company is an importer weighing whether to pursue a refund and facing litigation risk from downstream customers, or a business that paid tariff surcharges to a supplier, understanding the current landscape is essential to evaluating the risks and opportunities that the tariff refund process presents.
Author:
Donald W. Hawthorne, Partner