Despite Trump's "I Will Remember" Threat, U.S. Tariff Refund Applications Reach $85 Billion

CBP Builds Dedicated Refund System
Large Corporations Account for Over 80% of Applications
Walmart, FedEx, Apple, Ford Among Applicants

Within just one month of applications being accepted for so-called "Trump tariffs" refunds, the total amount requested has surpassed approximately $85 billion (about 128 trillion won). Despite U.S. President Donald Trump pressuring companies by stating he would "remember" those that do not apply for refunds, major corporations have chosen to seek reimbursement.

Baggage containers waiting to be loaded at a port near Oakland, California, in August 2025. Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to the Nikkei newspaper of Japan on May 28, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in a report submitted to the U.S. Court of International Trade on May 26 that refunds had been processed for about 8.52 million out of 15.85 million individual import declarations. The remaining 3.48 million cases either failed verification or were rejected. As of May 22, the total amount of refund applications had reached $85 billion, with $20.6 billion (about 31 trillion won) having moved to the payment stage after being transferred by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Since April 20, the CBP has been accepting refund applications to return tariffs amounting to about $166 billion (about 250 trillion won). President Trump implemented a reciprocal tariff policy in April of last year, but refunds began after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the policy illegal in February. The number of eligible companies for refunds is estimated to be about 330,000.

CBP accelerated the refund process by building a dedicated system. Following the Supreme Court's ruling on unconstitutionality, the refund processing system called "CAPE" (Consolidated Automated Processing for Exports) was established in about a month and a half. Importers upload eligible transaction data in CSV file format, and the system automatically calculates the refund amount.

The concentration of refunds among large companies has been cited as a factor that sped up applications. Of the importers eligible for refunds, about 56,000 (17%) are large corporations, and they account for over 80% of the total refund amount. However, this also suggests that small and medium-sized enterprises, which are less familiar with customs procedures, may be facing difficulties in refund applications due to documentation or process-related issues. The Nikkei pointed out the need for a support system for smaller importers.

Despite President Trump's public pressure on companies, a significant number of large corporations have filed for refunds. On April 21, President Trump mentioned companies such as Apple and Amazon that had not applied for tariff refunds, signaling his favor toward those that did and indirectly pressuring others. Despite this, U.S. business media CNBC reported that Walmart, Apple, Home Depot, FedEx, UPS, Costco, and Target all participated in the refund applications. General Motors (GM), Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis in the automotive industry have also started reflecting expected refund amounts in their financial results.

According to CNBC, major U.S. corporations have been reluctant to disclose publicly whether they have applied for refunds, wary of the Trump administration. Although Amazon faced a class-action lawsuit for reportedly not pursuing a refund application, it did not respond to CNBC's request for comment on whether it had filed for a refund.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.