The US government has so far paid back $81 billion in tariffs to companies since the Supreme Court ruled in February that those tariffs were illegal, according to federal budget data disclosed on Monday.
In a 6-3 ruling in February, the Supreme Court decided that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant President Donald Trump the power to unilaterally impose tariffs of indefinite scope. The decision opened the door for companies to file refund claims.
According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, the IEEPA tariff revenue was estimated to be roughly $175 billion since Trump imposed the tariffs last year. An unnamed treasury official was reported to say on Monday that the number was in the range of $144 billion to $166 billion.
According to an April analysis by Citi, big retailers are entitled to big paybacks — Walmart was due $10.2 billion, Target was due 2.2 billion.
A Treasury Department official said most of the refunds happened in May and June, according to a report by The Guardian.
