U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has significantly expanded the scope of tariff refunds tied to duties the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year, with the total volume of accepted refund entries now tracking toward $85 billion — a figure that represents more than half of the estimated $166 billion collected under the invalidated levies.
As of May 22, around $20.6 billion in certified refunds, including interest, have been processed through CBP’s dedicated portal known as CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries), which launched on April 20. Those funds have been forwarded to the Treasury Department for disbursement.
Where Things Stand for Importers
More than 15.85 million entries subject to tariffs ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in March have been accepted for duty removal through CAPE. Of those, over 8.51 million have already been liquidated or reliquidated without the invalidated charges.
However, a notable bottleneck remains: CBP is still unable to process entries that have reached final liquidation status, a capability it says is still in development. Additionally, more than 3.48 million entries have failed entry-level validations — mainly due to entries falling outside CBP’s 90-day reliquidation window, duplicate CAPE submissions, or missing special tariff codes used to apply the duties later ruled unconstitutional.
CBP also noted that 4,185 consolidated refunds were not forwarded to Treasury because importers or their authorized representatives had not provided Automated Clearing House (ACH) bank account information — a simple but critical step that shippers and customs brokers should verify immediately.
Corporate Refund Forecasts Shape Financial Planning
Several major U.S. companies have already factored expected refunds into their 2026 financial outlooks. Ford Motor Co. anticipates receiving approximately $1.3 billion, while General Motors expects around $500 million in returns. Brands like Williams-Sonoma and PVH Corp. (Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger) are holding off on baking any refund figures into their projections until more certainty emerges.
On the carrier and logistics side, FedEx, UPS, and DHL Express have confirmed they will pass refunds back to the customers who originally paid the duties on eligible shipments, once those funds are received.
What This Means for Freight Professionals
For carriers, brokers, and shippers operating across U.S. trade lanes, this development has several practical implications:

Cash flow recovery is becoming more concrete — importers expecting large refunds should confirm ACH details and CAPE submission accuracy now.
Rate and contract negotiations may shift as companies model post-refund cost structures.
Compliance gaps in earlier filings (missing tariff codes, improper entry formats) are causing rejections — working with customs brokers to audit CAPE submissions is advisable.
Final liquidation processing remains an unresolved gap that could delay refunds for a large share of entries; monitor CBP updates closely.

The situation continues to evolve rapidly. FreightGraph will track further CBP filings and disbursement milestones as they develop.