Businesses starting to receive their IEEPA tariff refunds

MoneyWatch Businesses starting to receive their IEEPA tariff refunds .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Megan Cerullo Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Megan Cerullo May 12, 2026 / 5:05 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Businesses across the U.S. began receiving federal refunds on Tuesday for tariffs imposed by President Trump in 2025 and struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. Sarah Wells, whose small business makes accessories and apparel for breastfeeding mothers, told CBS News that about half of the money she is owed by the U.S. government had been deposited into her bank account.In April, Wells filed claims for refunds of two different tariffs her business imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — one for a shipment from China and the other for goods she imported from Cambodia. The Supreme Court ruled in February that Mr. Trump lacks the legal authority to impose tariffs under IEEPA."My refund claim had been accepted, and I'd been checking the status feverishly to see if anything was in my bank account," she told CBS News. "Earlier this morning at around 7, I got the money from the first container that came from China."  Sarah Wells said she received a partial tariff refund from the federal government on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Courtesy of Sarah Wells  Wells said the refund was for $10,000, which covers the 20% tariff she paid on the goods, plus interest. She expects another $10,000 federal payment for other IEEPA tariffs her business absorbed.As of 7 a.m. ET on Monday, the federal government said it had approved nearly 87,000 refund requests covering more than 15 million IEEPA...