Overview
- The U.S. Supreme Court's Feb. 20, 2026, ruling that struck down broad 2025 tariffs required the government to return duties and set in motion a large refund process run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
- CBP's new CAPE system has accepted roughly $128.7 billion in refund applications and certified about $100 billion for Treasury disbursement, producing fast flows of money to the importers of record.
- Logistics firms that served as importers of record are directly reimbursing buyers, with FedEx beginning to issue about $800 million in refunds and UPS and DHL filing large claims and planning phased payouts to customers.
- More than 40 S&P 500 companies have reported roughly $9.6 billion in refunds this quarter—including Apple (~$2.2B), Nike (~$986M), Amazon (~$600–640M), FedEx (~$800M) and GM (~$500M)—and some firms have booked one‑time boosts to earnings.
- Most big retailers were not importers of record and say direct consumer refunds will be rare, prompting more than 80 class actions and demands from lawmakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren for companies to explain whether and how shoppers will get money back while related legal and policy fights continue.