Andy Kim Says "200 Trillion Won in 'Illegal' Reciprocal Tariffs Must Go Back to U.S. Households"

"Pursuing Legislation to Send 2.5 Million Won Checks to Each Affected Household"

Andy Kim, U.S. Senator (Democrat, New Jersey). AP Yonhap News

Last week, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government's reciprocal tariff policy was "illegal," Kim Andy, United States Senator (Democrat, New Jersey), argued that the approximately 200 trillion won in tariff revenue collected through the reciprocal tariffs should be returned to American citizens.

Senator Kim, who is of Korean descent, appeared on CNN in the United States on the 22nd (local time). In response to the host's question, "What do you think should be done with the approximately 134 billion dollars (about 195 trillion won) in tariff revenue collected by the Donald Trump administration?", he gave this answer.

According to court filings from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cited by CNN, the federal government had collected a total of 134 billion dollars in tariff revenue from more than 300,000 importers as of December 14 last year.

Senator Kim said, "This administration took at least 1,700 dollars (about 2.5 million won) from American households, and it needs to give that back," adding, "We are working on legislation so that the refund amount can be returned to Americans in the form of checks and other means."

Senator Kim described the Supreme Court’s ruling that the reciprocal tariffs were illegal as "a true tipping point for the Trump administration," and evaluated it by saying, "This decision is not just about tariffs; it is a decision that confronts Trumpism as a whole." He went on to say, "It undermines President Trump's foundation and clearly shows how hollow and harmful his policies are."

Democratic lawmakers have continued to step up their criticism of the Trump administration since the ruling that the reciprocal tariffs were illegal. California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, the social networking service (SNS), "Even President Trump's own Supreme Court has acknowledged that the taxes he imposed on the people are illegal," adding, "President Trump must immediately refund the illegal taxes to every American."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, regarded as a potential contender in the next presidential election, also sent a letter to the White House after the Supreme Court ruling, stating that residents of Illinois had been harmed by the tariffs and demanding that a total of 8.6 billion dollars be refunded to 5.1 million households. That amounts to about 1,700 dollars per household.