Ranking Members Markey, Wyden, Shaheen, Senate Democrats Call for Automatic and Swift Tariff Tax Refunds, Real Relief for Small Businesses and Families

Senators: "Every cent of illegal IEEPA tariffs must be returned."

Letter (PDF)

(Washington, March 27) - Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) led several Senate Democrats today in writing to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney S. Scott to call for an automatic tariff refund process that does not create more pain for American small businesses and families.

The lawmakers write that the Trump administration's proposed refund process, the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system, places an unnecessary burden on small businesses and individual importers. The lawmakers ask the administration to utilize existing CPB records to automatically refund small businesses instead of forcing small businesses to opt-in. The letter comes as American small businesses have yet to receive their tariff refund following the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Trump's IEEPA tariff taxes last month.

The lawmakers wrote, "There is no principled reason for the Trump administration to conduct the refund process this way. CBP already has the payment records it needs to issue refunds. As of March 4, 2026, CBP reported that more than 330,000 importers had paid or deposited approximately $166 billion in IEEPA tariffs across more than 53 million entries. All of those payments are recorded in CBP's own ACE system - the same system within which CAPE is being built. If the government has records of every entry on which illegal tariffs were collected, it necessarily has records of every entry on which a refund is owed. Requiring businesses to file declarations to identify those entries is an unnecessary process that seems designed to discourage and reduce the number of refunds the government must ultimately pay."

The lawmakers continued, "Small businesses should not have to do additional work to receive refunds on what amounted to illegal tariff payments. The CIT, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court have spoken. Every cent of illegal IEEPA tariffs must be returned. The only question is whether CBP will make that process as simple and equitable as possible, or whether it will implement a complicated and unfair system through which large corporations and Wall Street will benefit financially."

The lawmakers requested answers to the following questions by April 8, 2026

1. How does CAPE comply with the CIT order that the government issue tariff refunds?
2. How does CAPE comply with representations from Administration attorneys in court that it would promptly, and at no cost to businesses, issue refunds if the tariffs were struck down?
3. Why did CBP develop CAPE rather than repurpose the existing ACE system to automatically issue refunds? Please provide any documents analyzing the shortcomings of repurposing the ACE system to automatically issue refunds.
4. Why is CAPE "opt-in," requiring affirmative action by tariff payers?
5. Why does CAPE require importers to identify entry summaries when CBP already has that information?
6. How will CBP ensure that each step of the refund process is transparent and accessible to small businesses?
7. Will there be a formal appeal system for businesses that dispute the amount of the refund issued by CBP?

The letter is co-signed by Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

Ranking Member Markey is leading the fight to deliver immediate relief for American small businesses and families struggling because of Trump's reckless tariff polices.

• Last week, Ranking Member Markey hosted a virtual briefing alongside Matt Platkin, former New Jersey Attorney General, to update small business owners on the tariff refund fight in the courts and renew the call for an automatic tariff refund process for small businesses.
• In March, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the largest retailers and shippers in the country urging them to pass tariff refunds on to consumers and small businesses that bore the brunt of Trump's tariff taxes.
• Earlier in March, Ranking Member Markey, alongside Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats,?introduced?the?Small Business Liberation 2.0 Act?to protect small business owners, workers, and consumers from further tariff-related economic harm under Trump's Section 122 tariffs.
• Previously, Ranking Member Markey?sent a letter?to Trump administration officials renewing his call for a tariff refund process and demanding an investigation into?reports?that Wall Street traders are taking advantage of Main Street by paying America's small businesses pennies on the dollar for tariff rebates in the absence of an official refund process.
• In February, Ranking Member Markey?introduced?the?Tariff Refund Act of 2026?with Ranking Members Wyden and Shaheen (D-N.H.) to require full refunds of Trump's illegal tariffs after they were struck down by the Supreme Court.
• Earlier in February, Ranking Member Markey?applauded?the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision to strike down Trump's illegal tariffs, held a?press conference?with Massachusetts small business owners, and called for immediate refunds for America's small businesses.
• Previously, Ranking Member Markey?released?a report?detailing how Trump's affordability crisis, including his devastating tariffs, are hurting Main Streets and working families across America.
• In?December, Ranking Member Markey held a press conference on the affordability crisis facing American small businesses and released?new state-by-state data?on total tariffs paid by small businesses from March to September 2025.
• In?November, Ranking Member Markey sent a?letter?to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Acting Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) Pierre Yared to renew his call for an equitable tariff refund process for small businesses.
• Earlier in November, Ranking Member Markey?held?a press conference to highlight the voices of small business owners impacted by Trump's devastating tariffs, and to call on the Supreme Court to strike down the tariffs.
• Previously, Ranking Member Markey held a press conference to highlight the voices of small business owners impacted by Trump's tariffs. Ranking Member Markey introduced the?Small Business RELIEF Act?in September 2025, which exempts small businesses from the "Liberation Day" tariffs and requires the President to provide refunds to small businesses who have paid them.
• In August, Ranking Member Markey sent a?letter?to Administrator Loeffler, Secretary Lutnick, Representative Greer, and Chair Miran, calling on their respective agencies to establish and publicize procedures for refunding tariffs to American businesses.
• In May, Ranking Member Markey first attempted?to pass the?Small Business Liberation Act, legislation that would exempt small businesses from the broad, reckless global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Ranking Member Markey?returned?to the Senate floor in an effort to pass the?Small Business Liberation Act?in August. Republicans blocked his legislation on the Senate floor on both occasions.

###

Permalink: https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/3/ranking-members-markey-wyden-shaheen-senate-democrats-call-for-automatic-and-swift-tariff-tax-refunds-real-relief-for-small-businesses-and-families