A group of 22 U.S. Democratic senators on Monday introduced legislation that would require President Donald Trump’s administration to fully refund, within 180 days, all revenue, with interest, raised from tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The legislation would require the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, which collects fees at U.S. ports of entry, to prioritize small businesses.
The Supreme Court gave no instructions on refunds on Friday when it struck down sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), remanding the case to a lower commercial court to determine next steps.
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The Democratslegislation would require CBP to refund all IEEPA-based tariffs illegally imposed by Trump, plus interest, even if import duties were finalized or “settled” by CBP.
The 22 Democrats who co-sponsored the bill included Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Ron Wyden, Edward Markey and Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrats on the Senate Finance, Small Business and Foreign Affairs committees, respectively.
“Senate Democrats will continue to fight to contain Donald Trump’s price-gouging trade and economic policies,” Wyden said in a statement. “A crucial first step is to help the people who need it most by getting money back into the pockets of small businesses and manufacturers as quickly as possible.”
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A spokesman for Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to comment on whether the Democrats’ bill would be considered.
But given that the bill has just been introduced and needs to go through committee review, a decision on whether to consider it will likely take some time.
US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that the Republican-controlled House would avoid the issue of returning tariff revenue.
“The White House is going to resolve this, and we have to give them the time and space to do so. This is an unprecedented event, of course, so there is no playbook to follow,” said Republican Johnson. “I think they (the White House) have a good case for it, and we’ll see how this plays out. It’s not something that really involves the House at this point.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legislation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the government would follow the lower courts’ ruling on refunds. “We will follow what they decide, but it could be weeks or months before we get an answer,” Bessent told CNN.
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CBP is expected to suspend collection of IEEPA fees starting Tuesday.
Reuters reported on Friday that the Supreme Court ruling made more than $175 billion in IEEPA fee charges subject to possible refunds, based on an estimate from economists at the Penn-Wharton Budget Model.
