We’re all dreaming of getting a refund on the tariffs we paid over the past year now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the recent tariffs – which wreaked havoc with our industry – were unconstitutional. The government has established an online portal called CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) to process refunds, which could total as high as $166 billion, according to Forbes.

But the issue of refunds for retailers is complicated. You won’t get any funds directly, because the US Customs and Border Protection will only issue refunds to the “Importer of record.” Those of us who purchased through a vendor will need to negotiate with our suppliers or importers to see if they will share some of their refund.

You won’t have as strong a case if your vendor absorbed the cost in their wholesale pricing. If you paid a tariff surcharge, you should consider requesting a refund. Be aware that this may well come in the form of a discount on a future order, or a credit towards merchandise. Cash is less likely to change hands, although the government did start issuing monetary refunds to importers on May 12. So far a small percentage of the claims have been processed.

Importers are not mandated to pass the refund along to those impacted by the tariffs. This means that consumers are not likely to get any of the $10.2 billion expected to go to Walmart – and that independent retailers will not see receive all of what we paid to our vendors. However we should expect to hear soon from any importers that we placed large orders with during the tariff era. It’s a chance for them to entice us to continue buying from them now that the recent tariffs will no longer be a detriment.

Happy retailing, 
Carol “Orange” Schroeder