Trump tariffs struck down: small business refund guide (2026)

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump's IEEPA tariffs on February 20, 2026. That should have been the end of it.

But if you run a small business that imports physical goods, you already know it's not that simple.

The tariffs may be gone, but the money you paid on them? Still sitting with Customs and Border Protection. And the replacement tariffs? Already here.

We put this guide together to help small ecommerce businesses and product-based brands understand what's actually happening with tariff refunds, what the government is doing (and not doing), and what steps you can take right now.

We also sat down with Angela Hawkins, CEO and Founder of Bamblu, an eco-friendly bamboo bedding company, to hear firsthand how she's been dealing with all of this since "Liberation Day" in April 2025.

Two things before we get into it: 

• First, this is not legal advice. We strongly recommend consulting a licensed customs broker or trade attorney for your specific situation.
• Second, this is a rapidly evolving area of law and policy, and anything here could change by the time you read it. 

We'll do our best to keep this updated, but always verify with official sources.

What happened with the IEEPA tariffs?

On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that President Trump did not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The ruling came in the case known as Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.

IEEPA is a law traditionally used for sanctions and national emergencies.

The Trump administration used it to impose tariffs on imports from many countries, starting with what the administration called "Liberation Day" in April 2025.

Rates varied by country, but some were steep. Those tariffs stayed in effect for nearly 11 months.

On February 24, 2026, CBP officially stopped collecting IEEPA duties on goods entering the country.

But within hours of the ruling, President Trump signed an executive order imposing a new 10% "global tariff" under a different law, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

That one's temporary: it expires on July 24, 2026, unless Congress extends it.

And Trump has said he plans to raise the rate to 15%, though as of this writing, that increase hasn't been formally implemented.

So the short version: the IEEPA tariffs are dead, but tariffs themselves are very much alive.

Where do refunds stand right now?

This is where things get complicated.

On March 4, 2026, Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton ordered CBP to begin processing refunds on IEEPA tariff payments.

The order applies to all importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties, not just the company that filed the lawsuit (Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States).

Two days later, CBP filed a declaration saying it couldn't comply.

The numbers tell you why.

CBP reported that as of March 4, roughly 330,000 importers had made over 53 million entries subject to IEEPA tariffs, totalling approximately $166 billion in collected duties.

Processing refunds manually would require more than 4 million labor hours, according to the agency.

Instead, CBP proposed building a new automated process within its ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) system.

The agency estimated this system would be ready in roughly 45 days from March 6, putting the target date around mid-to-late April 2026.

Here's how the proposed refund process would work, based on CBP's filing:

1. The importer files a declaration in ACE that includes a list of entries on which IEEPA duties were paid.
2. ACE runs a series of validations on each entry within the declaration and automatically recalculates the duty owed without the IEEPA tariffs (with applicable interest).
3. CBP verifies the declaration and processes refunds as soon as practicable.
4. ACE automatically finalizes (liquidates or reliquidates) the entries.
5. ACE automatically aggregates the refunds with interest by importer and liquidation date.
6. CBP certifies the refunds.
7. The Department of the Treasury issues IEEPA refunds electronically.

The court suspended its immediate compliance order on March 6 to give CBP time to build this system.

But Judge Eaton isn't waiting around. He ordered CBP to file a progress report by 2:00 PM ET on March 12, 2026.

And there's a financial clock ticking, too.

The judge noted that interest on the $166 billion in collected tariffs is accruing at roughly $650 million per month.

If the entries aren't resolved before year-end, he estimated that total interest could reach $10 billion.

What should importers do right now?

The refund system isn't live yet. But that doesn't mean you should wait to prepare.

Based on guidance from Baker Botts, Flexport, and other trade law firms, here's what importers can do now to be ready when the process goes live:

• Register for electronic refunds. Refunds are typically issued electronically through ACH in the ACE portal, so importers should confirm their ACH information is set up and current.

If you haven't already, you need to set up your ACH details through the ACE importer account portal.

• Audit your entry data. The upcoming ACE process will require you to identify which entries had IEEPA duties. This sounds straightforward, but it's not always clean.

Many importers combined IEEPA duties and regular duties on the same Entry Summary line instead of separating them.

That means isolating the exact IEEPA amounts might require manual review. Start pulling those records now.

• Estimate your potential refund. Flexport's Tariff Refund Calculator is free and available to the public.

You upload your CBP entry report, and the tool estimates your potential IEEPA refund broken down by duty category. It won't file anything for you, but it'll give you a clear picture of what you're owed.

• Monitor for guidance from CBP. The agency has said it will issue formal instructions on how to file refund declarations once the new ACE functionality launches.

Keep an eye on CBP's official site and the Court of International Trade docket for updates.

• Talk to your customs broker or a trade attorney. This is especially important if you used a DDP (Delivery Duty Paid) shipping arrangement, if your entries are already liquidated, or if you have entries where duties were combined in complex ways.

A professional can help you understand your specific exposure and make sure your claims are filed correctly.

What about the new tariffs?

The IEEPA tariffs are done. But the administration has made clear it intends to rebuild tariff pressure using different legal authorities.

• Section 122 (the "global tariff"). Already in effect. A flat 10% tariff on foreign-made goods, imposed the same day the IEEPA tariffs fell.

Trump has publicly stated he plans to raise this to 15%, but that hasn't been formally enacted yet. These tariffs expire after 150 days, on July 24, 2026. 

• Section 301 investigations (launched March 11, 2026). This is the big one to watch.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced new trade investigations into excess industrial capacity and unfair trade practices across 16 major trading partners.

The countries targeted include China, the EU, Japan, India, Mexico, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Switzerland, and Norway.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is the same authority the Trump administration used during his first term to impose tariffs on Chinese imports, many of which remain in place today.

It's a more established legal pathway than IEEPA, and the duties it produces don't carry the same constitutional vulnerabilities.

A second Section 301 probe targeting imports made with forced labor is also expected to launch, covering roughly 60 trading partners.

For small businesses, the practical takeaway is this: tariff uncertainty isn't going away anytime soon. The specific rates and structures will change, but the policy direction remains the same.

A small business owner's perspective: Q&A with Angela Hawkins

Angela Hawkins is the CEO and Founder of Bamblu, an eco-friendly bamboo bedding company.

She's been navigating tariff disruptions since "Liberation Day" in April 2025.

We sat down with Angela to hear how these policies have affected her business, what decisions she's had to make, and what she'd tell other small business owners in the same position.

When the tariffs first hit, what was the immediate impact?

Angela was attending a National Retail Federation event in Washington, D.C. when the "Liberation Day" tariffs were announced.

"None of us realized just how timely those meetings would become," she told us.

Business owners in the room started making calls to pause or cancel orders on the spot.

For Angela, the timing was particularly painful.

If the tariffs stayed past July, they'd hit right in the middle of holiday production season. And that's exactly what happened.

Her industry had already been dealing with a rough stretch, and many business owners had expected 2025 to be a recovery year.

‘’We expected the new administration to bring a level of stability back to the market. Instead, the policy created even more uncertainty at a time when small businesses were already operating on very thin margins.’’ – Angela Hawkins.

How did you protect your margins?

Angela's brand uses a proprietary bamboo fabric blend that's primarily manufactured in China.

Over the past two decades, Chinese manufacturers have developed both the process and the cost structure to make this fabric at a quality and price that other countries haven't matched yet.

She explored domestic production. But even U.S.-based manufacturers would need to source the bamboo fabric from China, which meant the tariffs would still apply to the raw material.

"The reality is that the U.S. manufacturing infrastructure is not currently set up to support the full supply chain for many small businesses at a price point we can reasonably sustain." – Angela Hawkins.

This is a point that gets lost in the broader tariff debate.

"Made in the USA" doesn't always mean "sourced in the USA."

Many products are assembled domestically from components that come from around the world. The tariffs don't distinguish between the two.

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, are you going after a refund?

The ruling took nearly 11 months. During that time, Angela said she slowed inventory purchasing almost entirely.

"I could not risk committing large amounts of capital to production when the cost to clear customs could suddenly increase by thousands of dollars," she explained.

If a shipment arrived at port and tariffs unexpectedly added $5,000 or $10,000 in duties, it could make it impossible to retrieve the goods.

At that point, a business risks abandoning the shipment and losing the entire investment.

Eventually, she worked with a supplier to ship using DDP (Delivery Duty Paid), where the seller takes responsibility for shipping costs, duties, taxes, and customs clearance. This reduced Angela's risk on a smaller order.

But there's a catch with DDP.

Under that arrangement, the shipper, not the importer, would be the one to file tariff refund claims.

And many suppliers are reluctant to do that because of the scrutiny those transactions might receive.

Trump has moved to tariffs under Section 122. How are you approaching this round?

"Section 122 tariffs are already being challenged in the courts," Angela noted.

Her strategy hasn't changed much from the IEEPA period: stay cautious.

She's limiting inventory purchases and prioritizing suppliers who can ship DDP to maintain clarity on landed costs.

The hope is that courts move faster this time and that policymakers consider mechanisms to make refunds easier to administer if these tariffs get struck down, too.

How do you make long-term business decisions when trade policy keeps shifting?

Trade policy has always been a factor in Angela's planning. When your supply chain operates internationally, policy changes can have immediate effects.

"Running a business has always required agility and the ability to adjust to external conditions," she said. "What made this situation particularly difficult was that many business owners believed the tariffs were legally questionable from the beginning."

That created frustration across the small business community. And in some cases, real discouragement.

What advice would you give other small businesses navigating this?

Angela's biggest recommendation: find a community.

"You do not have to figure this out alone." – Angela Hawkins.

She's a member of the National Retail Federation, and she said that support network made a huge difference.

NRF has been actively advocating for small retailers and guiding this process.

One resource she specifically recommended is Pete Mento, Director of Global Trade Advisory Services at NRF.

He posts regular updates on LinkedIn and hosts a weekly call every Thursday at noon, where business owners can hear the latest on tariffs and refund procedures.

Here's the registration link for the weekly call.

"You may not have seen yourself as an advocate," Angela added. "But if you're a business owner impacted by these policies, you already are one."

She ended the interview with the strong words of:

‘’Anyone reading this who wants to get connected is welcome to reach out. We are stronger when we navigate these challenges together.’’ – Angela Hawkins.

The bottom line

The Supreme Court ruling was a win for importers. But the refund process is still being built, new tariffs are already in effect, and the administration is moving to establish more durable trade barriers through Section 301.

Small businesses got caught in the middle of this. Many absorbed costs they shouldn't have had to pay.

Some closed their doors. And the ones still standing are now navigating a refund process that doesn't fully exist yet while simultaneously planning around a fresh wave of uncertainty.

The best thing you can do right now is prepare. Get your records together, set up your electronic refund account, connect with your customs broker, and join a community of other business owners going through the same thing.

Nobody should have to figure this out alone. And if you're reading this as a small business owner who's been affected, Angela Hawkins put it best: "Now is the time for small business voices to be heard."

Disclaimer: This article was last updated on March 18, 2026. Tariff policy is changing rapidly. Always verify information with official government sources and consult a licensed professional before making financial or legal decisions.