Consumers expecting a drop in prices after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the White House’s emergency tariffs are likely to be disappointed, as businesses plan to use any relief to offset elevated costs and gird themselves to chase refunds.
The top U.S. court’s ruling last week was a big win for the more than 1,000 businesses, including wholesaler Costco and tiremaker Goodyear Tire & Rubber, which had sued the government saying U.S. President Donald Trump lacked legal authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
But the decision also opened a bureaucratic labyrinth for importers, lawyers, and government officials, because the court did not say how the government should return the estimated $175 billion it had already collected. Because businesses expect a long wait for refunds, consumers shouldn’t expect to see relief either, small business owners told Reuters, as Trump imposes new tariffs.
“We absorbed almost all of the cost of the tariffs; we don’t think there’s a reason to, like, pay anybody back,” said Eva St. Clair, co-owner of apparel company Princess Awesome. The company, which in April brought one of the first legal challenges against the emergency tariffs, paid $30,000 in levies, and survived in part by setting up a tip jar for customers that raised $8,000, she said.
Trump’s tariffs, imposed through a series of executive orders targeting imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners, have pushed up prices and contributed to a decline in U.S. consumer confidence. A February 12 Federal Reserve Bank of New York study concluded that U.S. consumers and companies are bearing about 90% of the cost of the tariffs.
Anger over tariffs has soured Americans’ view of Trump’s handling of the economy. As of mid-February, his approval on the issue stood at 34%, just off the worst marks of his second term and far below his first, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.
Josh Ketter, CEO of Lincoln, Nebraska-based Spreetail, which sells Razor scooters, Sterilite boxes and above-ground pools on Amazon.com, said the company has “no planned price changes.”
“If we ever get refunds, it will only partially make up for the losses this past year,” said Ketter, whose company paid about $50 million in tariffs in 2025. Ketter is bracing for the refund process to take a couple of years, but hopes it will be shorter.
Not Over
Trump responded to the Supreme Court’s decision by imposing a temporary tariff of 10% on U.S. imports from all countries, which could rise to a threatened 15%, the maximum legally allowed under a 1974 law that requires Congress to agree to extend them after 150 days. His use of this law could invite additional legal challenges.
Jason Cheung, CEO of toy maker Huntar, said last week before the court’s decision that he doubted prices would fall. “We may run higher discounts to our customers though to get buying going again,” he said.
Spreetail’s Ketter said the newest tariffs won’t change how he’s now running his business, while Princess Awesome’s St. Clair said she would adjust incoming shipments so that they didn’t come into the U.S. until 150 days passed.
Before the emergency tariffs were overturned, U.S. consumers faced an overall average effective tariff rate of 16%, the highest since 1936. The ruling briefly dropped the tariff rate to 9.1%, though it will rise to 13.7% after the 15% global tariff begins on Tuesday, according to the Yale Budget Lab.
“The overall effective tariff isn’t much lower than it was last week,” said Joshua Bailey, principal economist for North America and global economics at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “That, combined with firms’ reluctance to reverse previous price rises, means the decision is unlikely to provide much relief to households.”
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru, Nick Brown and Arriana McLymore in New York, Tom Hals in Wilmington, Alex Marrow in London; Writing by Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by David Gaffen)
