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Irish_Dem

(80,618 posts)
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:17 PM Friday

Are the SC ruling and tariff refunds another scam?

Trump made a fortune pocketing the tariff money paid for by the US consumer.

Now Trump has to refund that money but will use American taxpayer money.
We can assume he and his pals will pocket the refund money too.

17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Initech

(108,294 posts)
3. They made all this shit up!
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:25 PM
Friday

There's no way we made $9 trillion dollars in a year. Fox News is just saying that because their sole job is kissing his ass.

ProfessorGAC

(76,357 posts)
8. It Was $190 Billion
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:41 PM
Friday

Know where I got that number?
It was reported by the current Treasury & Commerce departments.
And, I don't even believe that number.
But, as recently as 10 days ago it was 2% of $9 trillion.
In addition, the total value, at retail, of imports is well under $9 trillion. So, that number is impossible.

LetMyPeopleVote

(177,860 posts)
4. Tariff Ruling Kicks Off Messy Fight Over $170 Billion in Refunds
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:29 PM
Friday

This is from Kavanaugh's dissent


Back in August I posted following about tariff refunds.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220596612
There is going to be a messy fight over tariff refunds



https://news.bloomberglaw.com/international-trade/tariff-ruling-kicks-off-messy-fight-over-170-billion-in-refunds

Tariff refunds for companies that paid tens of billions were left unresolved by the Supreme Court, which ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump didn’t have legal authority to impose the duties under an emergency law.

The ruling will kick off what could be a prolonged battle for importers and retailers to try to recoup as much as $170 billion in tariffs they’ve already paid to the US government.

Among the major questions left unanswered for US importers are the prospects and the process for recouping the money the government collected over the past year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The vote was 6-3 against the Trump administration, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing in dissent.

“The court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers,” Kavanaugh wrote. “But that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’ as was acknowledged” during the court’s oral arguments in November.

US Customs and Border Protection so far has collected an estimated $170 billion in tariffs imposed by Trump using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the law at the center of the case, as of Dec. 14.

The court ruled that using IEEPA to impose tariffs wasn’t lawful, but the justices didn’t address whether importers are entitled to refunds, leaving it to a lower court to sort out those issues. The litigation will return to the US Court of International Trade for the next round of legal wrangling.....

While waiting for the justices to rule, more than 1,500 companies have filed their own tariff lawsuits in the trade court to put themselves in line for tariff refunds, according to a Bloomberg analysis.

The trade court in recent months has pressed the Justice Department for at least a hint of how it plans to handle the refund issue if it lost at the Supreme Court.

In written submissions, government lawyers have said that the administration won’t fight the court’s authority to order officials to recalculate tariffs, but left open the possibility that it might try to limit which importers are eligible.

I have seen reports of people selling claims for tariff refunds.

Irish_Dem

(80,618 posts)
6. The Trump Crime Syndicate is already dividing up the $170B ahead of time.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:31 PM
Friday

It will all be decided which politicians and fat cats get the money.

Wiz Imp

(9,590 posts)
16. So Kavanaugh's position is it's OK it was unconstitutional because it will be difficult to
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 02:36 PM
Friday

figure out how to refund the money? That's worse than Thomas & Scalia's opinions who just think anything that Trump does should be considered legal.

Fiendish Thingy

(22,657 posts)
5. Trump did not personally "pocket" the tariffs collected
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:30 PM
Friday

Where did you get that idea?

He has indeed enriched himself significantly over the past year, but not through tariffs.

US customs collects the tariffs and remits them to the Treasury.

Wiz Imp

(9,590 posts)
17. Yes. The tariffs have gone directly into the Treasury.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 02:37 PM
Friday

The tariffs were bad policy but they aren't a scam.

sop

(18,168 posts)
7. 'Tariff Refund Gold Rush: How Wall Street Is Monetizing Trade Law Uncertainty'
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:33 PM
Friday

(November, 2025) "In an unprecedented fusion of trade law, financial speculation, and constitutional brinkmanship, Wall Street firms are now buying up the rights to tariff refunds from U.S. importers, wagers that hinge on the Supreme Court striking down President Trump’s emergency tariffs. This speculative market, quietly ballooning into the billions, reflects both the desperation of cash-strapped importers and the opportunism of hedge funds and brokers who see a potential windfall if the Court rules the tariffs illegal."

"The emergence of this market is not just a financial story it’s a symptom of deeper dysfunction in U.S. trade governance. It exposes the fragility of emergency powers, the vulnerability of SMEs to policy shocks, and the growing role of private capital in arbitraging regulatory uncertainty. What began as a workaround for struggling importers has evolved into a full-blown asset class, with refund rights now traded like distressed debt or litigation finance."

"The Supreme Court is now set to hear arguments on November 5, with hundreds of billions in potential refunds hanging in the balance. The outcome could redefine the limits of executive authority in trade policy and set a precedent for future administrations." (The decision came down today.)

More at link:

https://www.peacocktariffconsulting.com/tariff-refund-gold-rush-how-wall-street-is-monetizing-trade-law-uncertainty/

And Commerce Secretary Lutnick's former firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by his son, stands to make "astronomical" profit from this tariff refund scheme:

"Wyden, Warren Probe Lutnick Firm’s Potential Conflicts of Interest Related to Massive Tariff Bets
Following Reports that Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street Firm Once Run by Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Now Run by Lutnick’s Son, Is Selling Tariff Bets, Senators Sound Alarm over Possible Conflicts of Interest and Insider Trading."

More at link:

https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-warren-probe-lutnick-firms-potential-conflicts-of-interest-related-to-massive-tariff-bets

There's no evidence (yet), but I strongly suspect Trump invested in this shady scheme.

Initech

(108,294 posts)
13. Yup, and Goldman Sachs is the House.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:49 PM
Friday

They're not just a bank - they're the biggest money laundering pyramid scheme in history.

Irish_Dem

(80,618 posts)
11. Trump knew what the SC was going to do. And he figured out a way to make $$ off of it.
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:46 PM
Friday

bucolic_frolic

(54,743 posts)
9. How about all the suckers who paid duties because de minimis exemptions ended?
Fri Feb 20, 2026, 01:41 PM
Friday

Some shippers really padded the bill .... I've read of $175 to clear customs and deliver a package of minimal value.

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