US refunds $81bn in Trump tariffs after Supreme Court ruling

The U.S. government has already returned tens of billions of dollars in tariffs that were previously deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. Budget figures released Monday show the government has paid back $81 billion in tariff refunds this fiscal year, a stark increase from the $5 billion returned during the same period last year.

A Treasury Department official attributed the surge almost entirely to the Supreme Court's February decision, which invalidated a significant portion of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Most of these refunds were processed in May and June.

President Trump had championed these tariffs as a strategy to revitalize American manufacturing, secure better trade deals, and reduce the federal budget deficit. While the tariff income had temporarily helped shrink the deficit, it has since begun to grow again. In the first nine months of the fiscal year, the deficit reached $1.367 trillion, a 2% increase. Concurrently, interest payments on national debt rose 14% to over $1 trillion, and military spending climbed 5% due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The administration's current temporary 10% global tariff is set to expire on July 24. However, the White House is reportedly preparing to implement new duties. These measures are expected to address concerns over inadequate enforcement of anti-forced labor laws and what the administration perceives as excess industrial capacity abroad.

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the spike is almost entirely because of the supreme court decision, with most of the refunds happening in May and June.