The tariff refund process has begun for businesses. What about customers? : NPR

Will Chyrsanthos decided to enhance his entryway bathroom with a unique feature. During home renovations last year, he chose to import a sky-blue concrete sink from Bulgaria. This ramp sink came with an additional cost of $250 due to tariffs.

On Monday, when U.S. Customs launched its online portal for refunding $166 billion in tariff revenue, Chyrsanthos attempted to claim a refund. However, he discovered that the portal was designed for entities that paid Customs directly, typically U.S. companies. For Chyrsanthos and other American consumers, securing a refund might depend on whether companies choose to pass the refunds along or through legal action such as class action lawsuits.

Initially doubtful, Chyrsanthos received promising news. DHL, the shipping company he used, announced plans to issue refunds for tariffs paid directly to them. “Now that’s unexpected and wonderful,” Chyrsanthos said. Similarly, FedEx and UPS have committed to refunding customers, facilitated by a clear record of payments.

However, for other renovation items in his Massachusetts home, Chyrsanthos lacks documentation. The tariffs were factored into the overall cost of each product rather than itemized, leading him to suspect a total increase in the thousands. “I have zero hope for recouping any of that,” he stated.

Retailers face a similar challenge: determining the exact tariff burden passed on to individual customers is complex. This challenge hinders them from distributing any government refunds they might receive. “It’s nearly impossible to determine how much individual consumers paid,” said Terence Lau, dean of Syracuse University College of Law.

Products often include parts from various countries, each subject to different tariff rates that changed over time. This makes calculating the precise cost for consumers difficult. Retailers likely absorbed some of the tariff costs, and the burden was shared across the supply chain, from vendors to customers. “By the time it gets down to the consumers, the whole tariff has been diluted,” explained Robert Shapiro, an international trade lawyer with Thompson Coburn.

Rebecca Melsky, co-founder of Princess Awesome, a clothing company featuring girls’ clothes with traditionally boy-coded images, highlighted the difficulty in calculating tariffs for each customer. “That doesn’t count in dollars, but time is worth money,” she remarked, noting the significant effort already spent on tariffs. Her company raised prices and offered a tariff tip jar for donations. Now, she considers offering $10 in store credit to contributors as a refund.

Retailers are exploring alternatives to provide refunds without the complexity of full reimbursements. Costco’s CFO, Gary Millerchip, suggested on a recent earnings call that the company might lower prices using the returned tariff funds.

Several class action lawsuits have been initiated against large corporations, arguing that they should share tariff relief since they passed costs onto consumers.

Edwin Martinez, an engineer who paid tariffs on online purchases of electronic components, expressed frustration at the likely lack of refunds. “I paid this extra tax, man,” he said. “Can I just have my money back?”