Tump's unconstitutional tariffs have been, in effect, a huge tax increase on the American consumer, and the likelihood of anything more than a paltry refund is highly unlikely.
American businesses and shoppers paid the vast majority of the billions of dollars collected for the emergency tariffs that the Supreme Court recently ruled illegal. Companies are now pushing to get their money back. But can shoppers expect their own refund?
"And if you do, it'll be pennies on the dollar," Shapiro said.
The roughly $180 billion collected under the struck-down tariffs, according to an estimate by Goldman Sachs, was typically paid for directly by businesses, and indirectly by consumers through higher prices. Because those companies often paid the actual customs bill, any refund from the federal government would go to them.
Shoppers will have to wait for companies to get their refunds before any potential reimbursements might trickle down to them. And that could take a while. Trump suggested the question of whether the government has to refund those tariffs could be tied up in lawsuits
.
"I guess it has to get litigated over for
the next two years"