Senate Democrats introduce bill to push for refund of over $175 bn in Trump tariffs following SC ruling

A group of 22 U.S. Senate Democrats introduced legislation on Monday demanding that the Trump administration fully refund, with interest, all revenue collected from tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down. The refunds, which must be issued within 180 days, would prioritise small businesses, according to the proposed bill.

This legislation follows a Supreme Court ruling on Friday, which declared Trump's broad tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), unlawful. However, the Court did not specify how refunds should be handled, opting instead to send the case back to a lower trade court to determine the next steps.

The Democrats’ proposal would require the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, responsible for collecting tariffs at U.S. ports, to issue refunds on IEEPA-based tariffs, even if the import duties were already finalised, or "liquidated."

The bill is co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senators Ron Wyden, Edward Markey, and Jeanne Shaheen, all senior Democrats in the Senate’s key committees. Wyden, in a statement, emphasised that the legislation would help put money back into the hands of small businesses and manufacturers, providing relief from what he called "price-hiking trade and economic policies" under Trump.

The proposal is still in the early stages and needs to be reviewed by the Senate committee before any decision on its consideration. Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, have not yet indicated whether they will support the bill, with Johnson stating that the White House should take the lead on the issue.

The White House, for its part, has yet to respond to the Democrats' proposal but has previously indicated that it would adhere to the lower courts' decision on refunds. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Sunday that the administration would follow whatever the courts decide, though he warned it could take weeks or months to reach a resolution.

The Supreme Court’s ruling now puts more than $175 billion worth of IEEPA tariff collections in play for potential refunds. These tariffs have generated an estimated $500 million per day in gross revenue, according to economists at the Penn-Wharton Budget Model.

(With inputs from Reuters)