U.S. News

The Trump administration has begun accepting applications from businesses seeking refunds for more than $166bn in tariffs, months after the supreme court ruled that the president had no legal authority to impose them.

The administration launched on Monday the digital claims system, named Cape, which they said in court filings could handle about 63% of affected import filings, with the remainder to follow.

Writing for the majority in February, Chief Justice John Roberts said the 1977 emergency statute Trump had invoked provided no such sweeping authority to implement the tariffs. Two of the president’s own appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, joined the majority. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh were the dissenters.

In court filings, customs officials acknowledged they had to construct an entirely new processing infrastructure essentially from scratch, including grappling with the fact that they initially had no mechanism to deposit money directly into most importers’ accounts.

The perfect microcosm of America. Businesses get huge refunds, while consumers get nothing for having paid higher prices. Still funneling all the money to the top.