US Has Refunded About US$100bil in Trump Tariffs

The United States has refunded about US$100 billion in tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, according to documents reported on Tuesday.

The figure constitutes about 60% of some US$166 billion the Trump administration collected after invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose duties.

The refunds went to importers that had paid the duties.

Trump used the act to impose sweeping tariffs on trading partners since returning to the White House last year, but the high court ruled in February this year that he had exceeded his authority in doing so.

That dealt a sharp blow to the president's ability to deploy tariffs at will, as he sought to use them as a tool for leverage against US allies and competitors alike.

The president's sector-specific tariffs, which rely on different justifications, remain intact.

In the court filing on Tuesday, a US Customs and Border Protection official said that as of July 31, "approximately US$128.68 billion in both potential and certified refunds" had been accepted for processing.

Of that total amount, refunds of around US$100 billion had been completed and sent to the treasury department for disbursement, the official added.

Since the Supreme Court's ruling in February, Trump has turned to new means to reimpose tariffs on dozens of partners, sparking further court challenges.