US finalises US$35.5 billion in refunds for illegal Trump tariffs

The US customs agency has ⁠processed refunds including interest ⁠worth US$35.46 billion as of ⁠May 11 for tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump last year that were deemed illegal, according to a Tuesday court filing.As of 7am on May 11, ‌the US Customs and Border Protection had received 126,237 applications for refunds covering an undisclosed number of shipments or entries, according to the court filing.The agency said it had validated 86,874 of those applications covering 15.1 million entries which were eligible for refunds.⁠Of that total, 8.3 million shipments have been finalised and the expected ‌refund with interest had been calculated, totalling US$35.46 billion, according to a declaration from Brandon Lord, a CBP official, ‌that was filed with the US Court of International Trade in ⁠New York.Dock workers offload containers from a ship at Port Everglades in Florida in April. Photo: AFPThe ⁠tariff refund report comes as major importers from carmakers to sportswear company Under Armour ‌have said they expect a profit boost from tariff reimbursements.