The United States has started the process of refunding reciprocal tariffs from 20 April 2026 through an online system, CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries), run by the US Customs and Border Protection.
The refunds have been mandated by a 20 February 2026 ruling by the US Supreme Court, which termed President Donald Trump’s tariffs illegal, as they were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) without proper legal authority.
The total refunds from the tariffs, imposed from 2 April 2025, are estimated at around $166 billion, with roughly $12 billion linked to goods from India.
To avail themselves of refunds, US importers must file detailed claims with shipment data, tariff lines and proof of payment. Only those who paid the tariffs—mainly US importers and companies, can claim refunds.
Ajay Srivastava, Founder of the Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI), has said that approved claims, along with interest, are expected within 60–90 days.
With 53% of India’s exports to the US, mainly textiles and apparel, having faced high tariffs, GTRI has estimated that textiles and apparel may account for about $4 billion, engineering goods for another $4 billion, and chemicals for about $2 billion.
Indian exporters will not receive refunds automatically, as payments will be made only to US importers, and exporters have no legal right to claim them. Any recovery will depend on commercial negotiations.
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GTRI has urged Indian exporters to proactively engage with US buyers to seek a share of refunded duties where earlier prices included tariff costs, especially where contracts were priced on a duty-paid basis.
Such efforts may involve reopening contracts, adding rebate-sharing clauses, requesting price revisions or credit notes, and using invoices and tariff data to demonstrate how costs were absorbed.
