The Supreme Court killed most of Trump’s tariffs. The government owed $166 billion in refunds. They built a portal and said everyone would get their money back.
Two-thirds of eligible importers couldn’t log in when it launched. Small businesses spent hours on hold with Customs and got no answer. Trade experts are now telling anyone who’ll listen that the government will probably just keep tens of billions it’s legally required to return — not out of malice, just attrition. The application process is complex enough that most small claims will time out or get buried, and nobody’s going to prison over it.
The businesses that survived a year of illegal tariffs by laying off workers, borrowing against assets, and falling behind on vendor payments don’t get those losses back from a refund portal. Small businesses shed jobs 13 months straight — retailers, manufacturers, construction firms — 4.5 times more job losses than during COVID, from a policy that was eventually ruled illegal. The workers are gone. The supply chains are wrecked. The people who did this are still in office, still talking about the manufacturing renaissance. You’re just supposed to get back in line and fill out the form.