US refunds $81 billion from Trump tariffs - Supreme Court declares them illegal, president announces new tariffs
The U.S. government has already returned tens of billions of dollars in tariffs it collected before the Supreme Court ruled them illegal, according to budget figures released Monday. Tariffs have been a key part of Donald Trump's economic plan since he took office last year. In February, the Supreme Court struck down a large portion of the additional tariffs Trump had signed into law, forcing the government to return the money to the companies that had paid them.
According to budget data, the United States has paid a total of $81 billion in tariff refunds for this fiscal year, which began in October 2025, compared with $5 billion during the same period last year. A Treasury Department official said the tariff increase was almost entirely due to the Supreme Court ruling, with most of the refunds made in May and June.
Trump had presented the tariffs as a comprehensive solution for the economy, with the goal of bringing factories back to the U.S., striking better trade deals and closing the federal budget deficit. But the deficit, which had narrowed slightly last year thanks to tariff revenue, is now rising again. It reached $1.36 trillion in the first nine months of the fiscal year, up 2%.
The United States spent more than $1 trillion just to pay interest on debt, up 14%, while military spending increased by 5%, due to the war in the Middle East.
The current temporary global tariff of 10% is set to expire on July 24, but the White House is preparing new schemes, due to what it sees as weak enforcement of laws against forced labor and industrial overcapacity.
The latest proposal could affect major trading partners including the United Kingdom, Japan, India, Taiwan and China, and would allow President Trump to bypass previous Supreme Court-imposed restrictions on his protectionist agenda. The new tariff rates are expected to be between 10% and 12.5%. Last month, Trump also threatened a 100% tariff on European countries that impose an additional tax on major American technology companies.
The UK has a 2% digital services tax, which applies to major social media platforms, search engines and online marketplaces. The tax, which applies to companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon, raised more than £800m in 2024-25. France, Spain and Italy apply a 3% digital services tax to large companies operating in their countries, while several other EU countries have either implemented or proposed similar policies.
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