Warren presses U.S. companies to share tariff refunds with customers
Companies receiving billions in refunds for U.S. tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court should return money to consumers, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.
Updated on: August 7, 2026 / 8:14 AM EDT / CBS News
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing companies entitled to refunds for illegal U.S. tariffs to return the money they are recouping directly to consumers.
Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, on Friday sent letters to Apple , Amazon, Energizer, Motorola, Nike, Target and Walmart seeking information about the size of the refunds they are receiving for import duties the companies paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In February, the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs were invalid because President Trump lacked the authority to impose them.
Warren also urged the companies to pass the refunds to consumers, saying in the letter that customers "paid higher prices for your products while the tariffs were in place."
The U.S. government has refunded more than $100 billion in IEEPA tariffs to businesses, or about 60% of what it owes importers, according to a court filing this week. Yet many consumers, who footed some of the bill for those import duties in the form of higher prices, aren't seeing similar relief , according to Warren.
"Importers pushed the costs of tariffs onto American consumers and small businesses — with estimates showing that American families will have ended up paying 95% of the tariffs," she wrote, citing data from the Congressional Budget Office.