Consumers who have been paying import tariffs for months will face big hurdles getting their money back even after the Supreme Court ruled it was collected illegally.
Big companies like Costco have already sued the government demanding the return of tariff revenue.
Now, experts are predicting a slew of class action filings demanding the government return up to $200 billion slapped on imports under tariff authority the Supreme Court knocked down Friday on a 6-3 ruling that incensed President Trump.
“Is the average American going to be able to afford to sue the government? It’s a costly exercise,” said Andrew Hale, a trade expert at the conservative think tank Advancing American Freedom.
“How do you quantify that? Was this money that was paid by US importers, and maybe they absorbed some of the costs, and passed others on to consumers? This is going to be very difficult to sort out,” he told The Post.
Giant retailer Costco already sued in December in the U.S. Court of International Trade, demanding the return of tariff money, even before Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 got struck down. That suit – among thousands filed by other businesses – got put on hold pending a decision by the Supreme Court.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month ripped the suit. “Costco, who’s suing the U.S. government, are they going to give the money back to their clients?” he told Reuters.
Minority Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee released a report after the ruling concluding that each American paid an average of $1,700 in tariffs, based on tariff revenue collected by the Treasury Department, with the monthly cost hitting $209 per household in January. Trump says the tariff revenue is helping the government and giving him leverage to strike deals with other countries.
Hale suggested the government set up an online system for people to make tariff claims, and said there are companies “lining up” to get a contract to assemble and manage one. Small business owners also fear they will lose out.
New Yorkers who were shopping Saturday weren’t counting on a big bucks return.
“I don’t see any route where that money actually is given back to the consumer. If anything, it’s going back to the businesses,” said Ali Aoun, 29, who works in children’s publishing.
“But in the last few months we have seen that people are still buying stuff. And so businesses now realize, they don’t have to lower their prices, and so the prices are still going to stay high because people are still buying stuff, even though the prices are high.”
Joshua North, 42, a photographer stocking up on food before the storm, didn’t think he would get any money back. “The corporations will,” he told the Post, “the regular taxpayer is not going to see that money.”
He said a friend’s bride had to fork out an extra $400 on a $4,000 wedding dress last year.
“I’m sure the bride would want her money back.”
“I don’t see any route where that money actually is given back to the consumer. If anything, it’s going back to the businesses,” said Ali Aoun, 29, who works in children’s books publication.
“But in the last few months we have seen that people are still buying stuff. And so businesses now realize they don’t have to lower their prices. And so the prices are still going to stay high because people are still buying stuff, even though the prices are high. And so the consumer is screwed.”