CHICAGO, March 5, 2026 — A federal judge has ordered the Trump Administration to refund the estimated $175 billion it collected under President Donald Trump’s protectionist tariffs, but the food-away-from-home industry may have to wait years before seeing any of the money.
The Administration has also been ordered to forego the duties on products that were in the process of being imported when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the surcharges as unconstitutional.
The directives followed President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 10% “universal” tariff on virtually all imports into the United States. The new tariff was levied under a different law than the one cited by the White House as the foundation for the surcharges that were overturned.
Scott Bessent, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, said the universal surcharge could be raised to 15% as early as this week. The duty would come on top of any tariffs that were in place before Trump embarked on his aggressive international trade policy, meaning duties could still vary greatly from one source nation to another.
The nation’s highest court ruled two weeks ago that the old justification for Trump’s tariffs, the International Emergency Executive Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), did not provide the authority claimed by the President. Trump immediately pivoted and imposed the 10% universal tariff under the Trade Act of 1974.
Although the Court in effect ended the tariffs that were imposed last year, it did not delve into the issue of refunds. Deciding if and how refunds should be paid was left to a lower judicial body, the U.S. Court of International Trade.
On Wednesday, International Trade Court Senior Justice Robert Eaton affirmed that the Administration needs to refund what had been collected to date under the now-defunct tariffs.
He also addressed the Administration’s indications that it would appeal the International Trade Court’s decision. Eaton pointed out that he had been given unilateral authority by the court to decide all matters relating to the refunds, suggesting a challenge of his directives would be futile.
To date, no system has been set up to receive and process refund requests. As a result, an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 parties have filed lawsuits to recover what they claim to be due. The plaintiffs range from FedEx customers to the states of New York and California.
An issue likely to be of great importance to the FAFH industry is what parties are entitled to a refund. Will the field be limited to companies and individuals who directly paid the tariffs, or will relief be extended to those who paid more for imported goods because the tariffs' expense was factored into the price they were charged?
Citing the complications and the amount of litigation that’s already been filed, Treasury’s Bessent is among those who warned that the refund process could take years.