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The BayNet<\/a>
\t\t\t\t\tOnline News & Entertainment\t\t\t\t
NOTE: The Maryland Office of the Attorney General shared the following press release:<\/em>
BALTIMORE\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 11 other attorneys general in urging Congress to pass legislation that would require the government to provide swift refunds for extra costs paid by businesses and consumers due to President Trump\u2019s\u00a0unlawful\u00a0tariffs.\u00a0
On February 20, the Supreme Court\u00a0struck down tariffs the Trump administration imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Businesses and individuals nationwide have been charged approximately $166 billion in unlawful IEEPA tariffs, which resulted in higher prices that disproportionately strained low-income consumers\u2019 finances.
Attorney General\u00a0Brown\u00a0and the coalition are calling on Congress to pass new legislation that would require the Trump administration to reimburse importers for these\u00a0unlawful\u00a0tariff charges with interest and\u00a0direct\u00a0businesses that passed along direct tariff costs to consumers to reimburse their customers who ultimately bore the financial burden.\u00a0\u00a0
In April 2025, President Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on countries across the globe by claiming he had the authority to do so under IEEPA. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs. While the Supreme Court did not make a decision regarding tariff reimbursements, the Administration had repeatedly committed in court filings that they would need to refund tariff costs with interest if the IEEPA tariffs were ruled unlawful.
In\u00a0a letter<\/a>\u00a0to House and Senate leadership, Attorney General\u00a0Brown\u00a0and the coalition are urging Congress to pass legislation requiring the\u00a0Administration\u00a0to issue automatic tariff refunds as soon as possible. While the\u00a0Administration\u00a0has\u00a0indicated\u00a0that importers would need to apply or sue for refunds, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a database of every\u00a0unlawful\u00a0IEEPA tariff paid by American direct importers.
The CBP has\u00a0stated\u00a0that refunds will only be available via a new direct deposit platform\u00a0for which\u00a0only six percent of importers are currently registered. The\u00a0Administration has also suggested that importers may need to navigate multiple refund processes depending on their shipment\u2019s status.
A refund process controlled by the\u00a0Administration\u00a0would\u00a0likely face\u00a0delays and disadvantage small businesses and individuals that do not have the resources to navigate a complicated application process or sue for refunds.
Attorney General\u00a0Brown\u00a0and the coalition are pushing for new legislation that could create\u00a0an equitable, uniform, and fast process for all affected importers to be reimbursed for their tariff costs.\u00a0\u00a0
In addition, Attorney General\u00a0Brown\u00a0and the coalition urge Congress to hold accountable the businesses that directly passed on tariff costs to consumers and other businesses. Importers that raised prices due to tariff costs should pass the benefit of the refunds they receive to those who\u00a0ultimately bore\u00a0the financial burden of the\u00a0Administration\u2019s\u00a0illegal tariffs.
Congress should also consider other ways to address the economic burden that the most financially vulnerable had to bear because of the\u00a0Administration\u2019s\u00a0unlawful\u00a0policy. As the attorneys general\u00a0explain, prices of cheaper products rose faster than prices of more expensive goods\u00a0as a result of\u00a0the tariffs, disproportionately\u00a0impacting\u00a0low-income consumers.\u00a0
In sending this letter, Attorney General Brown joined the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Virginia.
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