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Scores of Democrats are calling for Americans to receive refunds on expenses incurred from President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, which were struck down by the Supreme Court on Friday.
“The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs, but this ruling won’t undo the damage to Americans paying higher prices on everything from groceries to housing,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) in a post on social media. “Any refunds must end up in the pockets of the Americans who were illegally cheated out of their money by Donald Trump.”
In a six to three decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump overstepped his powers when issuing the tariffs. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, wrote that the tariffs functioned as a tax, which Congress has the only authority to issue.
Prior to the ruling, thousands of companies had already sued for refunds. Some Democrats have already filed legislation for small businesses to receive refunds in response to the ruling.
However, research has shown that much of the costs of tariffs have already been or will be passed onto consumers — a practice that may lead to permanent price increases, especially as Trump announces that his administration will pursue other means to continue imposing tariffs.
Up until the ruling, Trump’s tariff policies generated an estimated $195 billion for the government. Researchers have estimated that 90 percent of the extra costs will fall on consumers, and Yale University researchers have said that previous tariff policies have led to 100 percent of costs to companies to be passed onto consumers.
Analyses show that the tariffs would have cost American households roughly $1,000 to $2,000 over the course of a year. This burden would have come on top of skyrocketing inequality, as landlords impose unaffordable rents, federal subsidies for health care disappear, and corporations cut tens of thousands of jobs (instead of CEO pay) in response to cost increases.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called on the Trump administration to “immediately issue refund checks — with interest” to Americans and businesses.
“Time to pay the piper, Donald. These tariffs were nothing more than an illegal cash grab that drove up prices and hurt working families, so you could wreck longstanding alliances and extort them,” Newsom said in a statement.
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Plantner said that the reversing of the tariffs can’t be a “giveaway to corporations.”
“They hiked prices due to Trump’s illegal tariffs, and WE paid the price,” Platner said. “Any tariff refunds belong to consumers & small businesses — not corporations w record profits.”
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