Government had been forced to pay back duties to companies that imported goods into the US that were hit by Trump’s tariffs
The US government has already paid back tens of billions of dollars in tariffs it collected before the supreme court ruled them illegal, according to budget figures released on Monday.
Tariffs – taxes on imported goods – have been a key part of president Donald Trump’s game economic plan since he took office again last year.
But in February, the supreme court shut down a big chunk of the extra tariffs Trump ordered, forcing the government to return money to the companies that had paid them.
According to the budget data, the US has paid out $81bn in tariff refunds so far this fiscal year, which started in October 2025, compared to just $5bn during the same stretch last year.
A Treasury department official told reporters that the spike is almost entirely because of the supreme court decision, with most of the refunds happening in May and June.
Fucking DHL is double-dipping: They charged me a tariff inspection fee to import my packages, and now they charge a fee* to request tariff refunds of eligible shipments.
*Or I can make an account on some inscrutable government website, write letters to DHL to get paperwork about my shipments, and try to figure it out myself.
It’s the same strategy as the “cancel anytime” gym memberships. It’s technically true, but they make it such a pain in the ass that consumers won’t do it and the company gets to keep their money.