The U.S. has returned tens of billions to businesses following a Supreme Court ruling
14 July 05:54
The U.S. government has already refunded $81 billion to companies that had paid customs duties imposed by President Donald Trump. These refunds followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found a significant portion of the duties to be unlawful.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing an article in The Guardian and a budget report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
U.S. Refunds Record $81 Billion to Importers
According to the budget report, since the start of fiscal year 2026, the federal government has already paid importers $81 billion in compensation for tariffs that were collected unlawfully.
Most of the refunds were issued in May and June, even though the Supreme Court’s decision was handed down back in February.
The Guardian notes that during the same period last year, the government refunded only about $5 billion, making the current payments unprecedented.
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Why the Court Overturned Trump’s Tariffs
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump had exceeded his authority when he used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping import tariffs.
The court concluded that such decisions can only be made with the appropriate authorization from Congress.
Following this, the U.S. government was forced to launch a large-scale process to reimburse companies that had paid the increased tariffs.
The U.S. budget deficit has risen again
Although Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that his tariff policy would help reduce the federal budget deficit, official statistics show the opposite trend.
Based on the results of the first nine months of the fiscal year, the U.S. budget deficit:
- increased by 2%;
- reached $1.367 trillion.
One of the reasons was the massive refunds of customs duties to importers.
Nearly one trillion dollars went solely toward servicing the debt
According to a report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, spending on the national debt remains a huge burden on the budget.
In just nine months of the fiscal year, the United States spent more than $1 trillion on interest payments on government debt.
Defense spending also increased. The military budget rose by approximately 5%, largely due to U.S. operations in the Middle East and the conflict with Iran.
What Will Happen to Trump’s Tariff Policy?
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Donald Trump administration has not abandoned the use of tariffs as a trade policy tool.
According to The Guardian, the White House is already preparing new tariff mechanisms on a different legal basis to continue protecting American manufacturing and combating unfair competition.
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