President Donald Trump said he would remember the companies that didn’t try to get refunds on tariffs the Supreme Court ruled were illegal earlier this year.
During an interview with CNBC on April 21, Trump was asked about reports that Amazon and Apple Inc. had delayed seeking the refunds over concerns that it would upset the president.
“It’s brilliant if they don’t do that,” Trump said. “If they don’t do that, I will remember them.”
Amazon and Apple Inc. have not publicly stated whether they will seek refunds. Neither company responded to requests for comment by The Epoch Times.
His comments were made as some companies sought refunds for the tariffs that the Supreme Court said were illegal under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The Supreme Court's decision focused on multiple sets of tariffs imposed under that law. The court said Trump had gone too far, but that its ruling did not affect tariffs imposed under other statutes.
Trump was critical of the Supreme Court’s decision.
“Those members of the Supreme Court who voted against our very acceptable and proper method of TARIFFS should be ashamed of themselves,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Feb. 20. “Their decision was ridiculous but, now the adjustment process begins, and we will do everything possible to take in even more money than we were taking in before!”
Following that decision, the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to refund duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That amounted to $166 billion in tariffs, based on government data.
Companies must submit claims through U.S. Customs and Border Protection or pursue litigation in the U.S. Court of International Trade. Officials have said that processing claims will take time due to the scale of affected entries.
Law firm Fox Rothschild LLP said it may be the single largest refund directive in the history of U.S. customs law and declared it a “logistical nightmare,” with more than 330,000 importers having to file more than 53 million entries involving refundable duties.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection was set to begin the first phase of its refund process for certain tariffs on April 20.
Besides aiming to lower trade deficits, Trump is using tariffs to achieve foreign policy goals.
On April 6, Trump threatened higher tariffs on countries that arm Iran.
“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump’s tariffs raised $182 billion from January through September 2025 and another $107.6 billion from October 2025 through January 2026, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.