US Shipping Firms Begin Distributing Trump Tariff Refunds After Supreme Court Ruling
Major US shipping companies UPS, FedEx, and DHL are preparing to start refunding over a billion dollars in tariffs to eligible customers beginning in August. This follows a February 20, 2026, US Supreme Court decision that invalidated former President Donald Trump's tariff program, ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the president to impose such tariffs. In response, US Customs and Border Protection announced a phased refund process called CAPE on April 20, 2026, initially focusing on recent and easily processed import records from 2025 and early 2026.
FedEx has already received approximately $800 million held by the US government for customer refunds and plans to distribute these funds proportionally based on actual tariffs paid. DHL is sorting approved refund amounts and submitting automatic refund requests for eligible shipments, aiming to credit customers as soon as Customs releases the funds. UPS expects the largest potential refund, around $5 billion, and has immediately requested about $500 million in the first phase. UPS CEO Carol Tomé described the company’s role as a "pass-through pipeline," committing to promptly return funds to customers once received.
The overall tariff dismantling is extensive but will take significant time. Trade organizations and logistics firms, including APL Logistics and the French-American Chamber of Commerce, estimated in May 2026 that the US government collected up to $166 billion in tariffs before the ruling. However, only a portion of this is being refunded initially. Companies importing via parcel networks are among the first to receive refunds because tariffs were listed separately on invoices, facilitating quicker reconciliation. Other companies that embedded tariff costs into product pricing face slower refund processes. The first phase does not cover all shipments; additional records and older filings will be addressed in later stages as eligibility windows expand and submissions are cleared.
