(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trump forced to launch tariff refund site [1] ['Oliver Willis', 'View Profile', 'Alix Breeden', 'Lisa Needham', 'Emily Singer', 'Jen Sorensen'] Date: 2026-04-20 With little fanfare or publicity, the Trump administration launched a new portal on Monday to begin the process of paying back businesses with the tariff funds collected under President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Dubbed the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries program, unlike other initiatives from the Customs and Border Protection Agency like immigration raids and drug busts, the tariff repayment program wasn’t spotlighted in a release in the newsroom section of the agency’s website. Similarly, The New York Times reported that the White House did not respond to inquiries for comment about the program and Customs and Border Protection did not offer up officials for interviews, which is how the rollout of such a major program is usually executed. Attribution: Clay Bennett/Tribune Content Agency Cartoon by Clay Bennett In all likelihood, the administration is attempting to downplay this major policy failure for Trump. More than $166 billion in collected tariffs has to be paid out to hundreds of companies. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. For years Trump has touted tariffs as an essential weapon in his economic policy. During the 2024 presidential campaign he spoke about tariffs as an easy way to bring economic growth to the country. Former Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly explained that Trump was selling a tariff pipe dream. Harris told voters that tariffs are a burden on the economy, increasing costs for companies that are passed on to consumers. Trump ignored her warnings as well as the advice of legions of economists and other economic experts. He launched tariffs in a branded “Liberation Day” event and the failure and economic shockwaves began almost immediately. Nations like China refused to give in to Trump’s tariff demands and close American neighbors like Canada and Mexico began to loosen their economic ties to the U.S., seeking more hospitable partners. In February, the right-wing Supreme Court delivered a massive blow to Trump, deciding that the powers he had used to impose the tariffs were nonexistent and in violation of federal law. The court allies that have protected him from legal prosecution and worked side-by-side with him on initiatives like killing abortion rights abandoned him in his tariff crusade. Related | Democrats don’t want you to forget the cost of Trump’s dumb tariffs Tariffs have contributed to a rise in unemployment and created a burden for thousands of businesses, including a wide swath of small businesses who rely on goods coming in and out of the country. The Trump tariff action has reversed many of the economic gains made by the Biden administration, who had to repair the economic mess they inherited from the first Trump administration. The launch of the refund site does not solve the problem. It is still unclear when the affected companies will receive their funds from the government and how much they will take in. Consumers are hurt even more. Companies have to then decide whether they will pass on the refunded money to their customers, meaning the people Trump said would be helped the most by his tariff scheme are in the worst position. Voter anger behind the tariff shock is a major contributing factor to the likelihood of Democratic Party success in this year’s midterm elections. The public associates Trump and Republicans with the blunder and are primed to punish them at the polls. At the same time Trump’s other key policy—going to war against Iran—is pushing gas prices higher. Trump made this mess and now has to retreat. Republicans will probably still pay a higher price for it all. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/20/800024023/whitehouse/trump-forced-to-launch-tariff-refund-site/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/