Dive Brief:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection is on track to deliver $35.46 billion in refunds for invalidated tariffs as of Monday through a dedicated portal it launched last month, the agency said in a court filing.
- The current total accounts for more than 8 million liquidated or reliquidated entries that have cleared the validation and refund steps of Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, which launched on April 20, per the Tuesday filing.
- The agency said that more than 15 million entries, including those that have gone through to refund, have been validated, but that “anticipated refunds and interest payments for the remaining entries continue to be consolidated by the CAPE Refund component.”
Dive Insight:
Despite a rapid development and launch window, CAPE has performed better than many experts expected, with the latest update from CBP signaling that the system is already paying back importers for duties paid under tariffs the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year.
Companies such as truck manufacturer Oshkosh and toy maker Basic Fun have already seen returned funds hit their bank accounts, according to Reuters. Similarly, Sarah Wells, founder of Sarah Wells Bags, which sells breast pump bags and accessories, said she received her first refund payment this week.
“I haven't been refunded all yet -- just one of my entries thus far this morning, but it's actually there,” Wells said in a LinkedIn post Tuesday.
Several other companies are also baking potential tariff refunds into their financial plans for the year. For example, automakers Ford Motor Co. and General Motors are expecting returns of $1.3 billion and $500 million, respectively.
Even with refunds beginning to trickle out, a large portion of importers remain waiting their turn, with CBP in March estimating the total bill paid for the invalidated tariffs was roughly $166 billion. The agency is still unable to process finally liquidated entries, although it previously stated it was developing the capability.
As the refund rollout continues, ensuring uploaded data is consistent and vetted is essential, experts have told Supply Chain Dive.
“The firms that ultimately win this market are not going to be the cheapest spreadsheet uploaders,” Pete Mento, director of global trade advisory services at Baker Tilly, said in a LinkedIn post. “They are going to be the firms that understand customs valuation, tariff stacking, entry reconstruction/sequencing, audit defense, operational controls, and how to calmly explain to a CFO why a refund opportunity unexpectedly turned into a compliance event.”
