Two U.S. companies, heavy-truck manufacturer Oshkosh Corp and toy maker Basic Fun, announced on Tuesday that they have begun to receive partial reimbursements of import tariffs they paid under the Trump administration. The refunds follow a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that found the tariffs to be unlawful and led to an order directing the government to return up to $166 billion to affected importers.
Basic Fun's chief executive, Jay Foreman, described the early flow of funds as cautious, saying in an email: "The issue is will the funds flow like a river or fire hose or like a stream or garden hose. So far, the funds are trickling out but they have started." Foreman reported receiving $400,000 to date against $7.4 million in claims submitted by his company, which markets brands including Tonka trucks, Care Bears and K'Nex construction toys.
Oshkosh has not publicly disclosed the full amount it is seeking to recover, but the company confirmed that it has started to receive a portion of the refunds. The announcements mark a key point in a protracted dispute over the tariffs and the mechanics of reimbursing the many businesses that paid them.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided a snapshot of the administrative progress as of early April, saying that 56,497 importers had completed the necessary steps to receive electronic refunds. Those completed claims represented $127 billion in refunds, which Customs said amounts to more than three-quarters of the total eligible to be returned.
Customs also noted the broader scale of the tariff program: more than 330,000 importers had paid the disputed tariffs on roughly 53 million shipments. The difference between those totals and the number of completed electronic claims underscores remaining administrative work to deliver refunds to all affected parties.
Industry participants and observers have raised questions about whether final actions taken near the end of the previous administration could delay or complicate the disbursement process. Officials and company executives have described the pace of refunds in varied terms, with some seeing an initial trickle while the formal mechanisms for large-scale electronic reimbursements continue to be implemented.
Data points:
- $166 billion - maximum amount ordered to be refunded to importers.
- $127 billion - amount associated with electronic refunds for 56,497 importers, according to Customs as of early April.
- More than 330,000 importers and 53 million shipments had been subject to the tariffs.