US to start refunding illegal tariffs from May 11 after court ruling.
Refunds go to US importers, leaving Indian exporters without direct payouts.
India may benefit indirectly through exports, but gains depend on negotiations.
The Trump administration plans to commence issuing the first refunds for tariffs ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court from around May 11, according to an order filed on April 29 in the US Court of International Trade, reported The Economic Times.
According to reports, a portion of the affected import entries has already moved into the repayment stage. Nearly 3% of entries subject to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) have been liquidated through a new system known as Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) and are now in the refund phase, which includes payments by the US Treasury.
1 April 2026
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The filing noted that about 21% of entries have been accepted for duty removal under the CAPE process. As of April 26, about 1.74mn accepted entries had been liquidated and were undergoing refunds.
The repayment exercise could be massive in scale. Court documents indicate the process may cover around $166bn in duties collected from more than 330,000 importers across roughly 53mn entries.
After the US Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs under IEEPA held that Donald Trump lacked the authority to impose tariffs under International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the refund process remained unclear, leaving businesses uncertain about repayments; the 6–3 decision striking down the tariffs drew sharp criticism from Trump, who called it “terrible” and “totally defective” and he subsequently imposed a fresh 10% global tariff.
Who Actually Gets Paid
While the US importers are set to receive tariff repayments, Indian exporters are unlikely to see direct benefits, even though nearly $12bn refunds are tied to Indian goods. The payments are meant only for US importers who actually dealt with the tariffs. Out of this $12bn, about $4bn comprises textiles and apparel, followed by engineering goods with a similar share and chemicals contributing about $2bn, while other sectors make up the remainder.
According to reports, exporters and end consumers may get the refunds if some companies such as FedEx opt to pass on the refunded amounts at their discretion.
Citing a Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) report, The Times of India reported that around 53% of India’s shipments to the US, which largely comprises textiles and apparel, were subject to higher tariffs. This makes them the largest contributors to the refund pool.
Indian exporters can actively engage with their US counterparts to negotiate a share of the refunded duties, especially in cases where earlier pricing factored in tariff costs.
