RIGHT SPEAK: Trump Tariff Refunds: Will Consumers See Any of the $175 Billion Collected After the Supreme Court Ruling? What We Know and What We Don't Know About the Future of Tariffs After the Supreme Court Struck Them Down

Trump tariff refunds: Will consumers see any of the $175 billion collected after the Supreme Court ruling?

President Trump’s global trade agenda ran into a wall Friday as the Supreme Court struck down his “reciprocal” trade and anti-fentanyl tariffs.

The 6-3 ruling by the court puts at risk an estimated $175 billion already collected over the past year and jeopardizes the fate of Trump’s trade pacts with major partners, many of which have not been ratified.

The court found that Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) citing “national emergencies” related to trade imbalances and drug smuggling.

Trump’s duties targeted China, Canada and Mexico — America’s three largest trading partners — to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl, which had killed 330,000 Americans over the preceding five years, while his “reciprocal” tariffs announced last April sought to equalize long-standing trade imbalances.

The fentanyl tariffs elicited vows of increased anti-smuggling cooperation from the three countries and his reciprocal tariffs resulted in the brokering of massive trade deals with nearly all of America’s largest economic partners, which vowed to break down barriers to US imports.

Trump officials have for months said they would seek to resurrect tariffs under different legal authorities if the Supreme Court ruled against them, but the defeat creates significant uncertainty about what comes next.

When can consumers see tariff refunds?

Likely never.

Consumers have paid higher prices since last year after US businesses hiked prices in anticipation of raised rates.

Businesses that paid the higher tariffs, however, are expected to seek refunds.

“[T]he Court’s decision is likely to generate other serious practical consequences in the near term. One issue will be refunds,” wrote dissenting Justice Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by Trump during his first term.

“Refunds of billions of dollars would have significant consequences for the US Treasury. The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers. But that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’ as was acknowledged at oral argument.” --->READ MORE HERE

What we know and what we don't know about the future of tariffs after the Supreme Court struck them down:

The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's global tariffs on Friday in a 6-3 decision that centered on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law.

So, what does that mean for the future of tariffs? Here's what we know and what we still don't know yet following the ruling.

What we know

Trump can still impose tariffs, but not under the fast-acting law he previously used.

In the Supreme Court's decision, the majority found that the Constitution "very clearly" gives Congress the power to impose taxes, including tariffs.

Trump set what he called "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries in April 2025 to address trade deficits that he declared a national emergency. Those came after he imposed duties on Canada, China and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.

The economic impact of Trump's tariffs has been estimated at some $3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Treasury has collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law, federal data from December shows.