WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) urged President Donald Trump to ensure that any refunds from the Supreme Court’s decision striking down his administration’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)-based tariffs are used to deliver relief to American families and small businesses, not large corporations.  

“Absent action from this administration, over $100 billion in tariff revenue collected under those unlawful tariffs will not make it into the hands of American families and small businesses, but instead will remain either in government coffers or in corporate accounts,” Senator Gallego wrote to President Trump. “The invalidation of these IEEPA tariffs is a chance to make American families and small businesses whole – not to retain unlawfully collected funds or enable additional corporate profit.”

Gallego warned that without a clear plan to return unlawfully collected tariff revenue, billions of dollars could remain with the federal government or large corporations instead of reaching the families and small businesses that bore the costs through higher prices.

“Since your first invocation of IEEPA to impose sweeping tariffs on countries, Americans have borne the brunt of higher prices. The chaotic and expansive nature of the IEEPA tariffs, often used to dole out punishments and rewards unrelated to rectifying unfair trade practices, also created conditions for large companies with market power to raise prices above the increased input costs,” the Senator continued.  

“Without your administration providing a structured process to determine refunds should be distributed, American families and small businesses will once again be left behind. Additionally, the continued neglect of your Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate tariff-enabled corporate price gouging compounds the risk of consumer harm in this chaotic moment,” the Senator continued. “The American people deserve clarity on whether and how they will be made whole following the unlawful imposition of these tariffs.”

In the letter, Senator Gallego asked the administration to clarify whether it plans to issue refunds, how eligibility would be determined, and what safeguards will prevent large corporations from capturing the majority of refunds while families and small businesses are left behind.

Read the full letter HERE.