Senate Democrats Push Bill to Refund Trump Tariffs After Supreme Court Ruling

A group of 22 U.S. Senate Democrats has introduced new legislation requiring the Trump administration to refund all tariff revenue collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the policy. The proposal would mandate that refunds, including interest, be issued within 180 days, prioritizing small businesses and manufacturers impacted by the import duties.

The Supreme Court recently invalidated President Donald Trump’s broad IEEPA-based tariffs but did not provide specific guidance on whether businesses should receive refunds. Instead, the justices remanded the case to a lower trade court to determine the next steps. The new Democratic bill would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which oversees tariff collection at U.S. ports of entry, to return all unlawfully imposed IEEPA tariffs, even if the duties had already been finalized or “liquidated.”

Among the bill’s co-sponsors are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Wyden emphasized that refunding tariff revenue is a key step in countering what Democrats describe as price-hiking trade policies and in delivering financial relief to small businesses.

The legislation faces uncertainty in the Republican-controlled Congress. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to comment on whether the measure would be considered, while House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated that the House would defer to the White House on the issue. Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson criticized the bill, defending Trump’s tariff strategy as beneficial to U.S. manufacturing and economic policy.

According to Reuters, more than $175 billion in IEEPA tariff revenue could be subject to potential refunds. Estimates from the Penn-Wharton Budget Model suggest the tariffs generated over $500 million per day. CBP is scheduled to halt IEEPA tariff collections at 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday, pending further court decisions.