Trump Says No Refunds... Democrats Propose Tariff Repayment Bill Within 180 Days

22 U.S. Senators Introduce Refund Bill
Trump Signals No Intention to Issue Refunds
Passage in Congress Seen as Unlikely

Exterior view of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. AP/Yonhap News

On the 23rd (local time), after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that the Donald Trump administration's reciprocal tariff policy was "illegal," Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill seeking to return to U.S. citizens roughly 200 trillion won worth of tariff revenues collected through those reciprocal tariffs.

Reuters reported that 22 Democratic senators jointly introduced a bill requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to fully refund, including interest, within 180 days all reciprocal tariff revenues collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to U.S. companies and consumers. The bill's sponsors include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, ranking member of the Finance Committee, and Edward Markey, ranking member of the Small Business Committee.

According to CBP, the total amount of tariffs imposed under IEEPA from last year through this year (on a fiscal-year basis) is about 133.5 billion dollars (approximately 193 trillion won). Of that, reciprocal tariffs applied to all countries amount to 81.7 billion dollars. The New York Times (NYT), citing the University of Pennsylvania's "Penn-Wharton Budget Model (PWBW)," has projected that total refund claims could reach 175 billion dollars (about 254 trillion won. A large number of companies have already filed lawsuits seeking tariff refunds in anticipation of the Supreme Court's ruling that the policy was illegal. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has estimated the number at several hundred, while Bloomberg has put it at more than 1,000.

The bill directly clashes with the White House's position. Just a few hours after the Supreme Court handed down its ruling that the reciprocal tariffs were illegal, President Trump made it clear at a hastily convened press conference that he had no intention of issuing refunds, saying that the matter "could be in court for up to five years." Republican leaders are also taking a cautious stance on the refund bill. The news agency reported that passage through Congress is unlikely to be easy, as the Republican Party holds the majority in both the House and the Senate.

Meanwhile, President Trump warned that he would impose "retaliatory tariffs" on countries around the world if they seek to scrap existing trade agreements. Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, he wrote that countries seeking to "play games" by exploiting what he called the Supreme Court's "ridiculous" ruling, especially those that have "ripped off" the United States for decades, would face tariffs that are "much higher and much more severe" than those agreed to recently. This amounted to a warning to countries running trade surpluses with the United States. Citing the Latin-derived maxim "Buyer Beware," he also made it clear that, if and when he imposes retaliatory tariffs in the future, he believes the responsibility will rest with the other countries.

Countries including those in Europe are moving to review the trade agreements they concluded with the United States last year. The BBC in the United Kingdom reported that governments are examining whether the trade agreements they previously signed with the United States will remain in effect. The United Kingdom is seen as the country that could suffer the most if a uniform 15% global tariff is applied. The U.K., which has asked Washington to confirm whether its 10% tariff agreement will remain in force, has stated that "all options are on the table." The European Union (EU) also halted the ratification process for the agreement it signed with the United States in July last year. India is also reported to have postponed follow-up negotiations.