Ups sits at the center of a fast-moving tariff fight after President Donald Trump said he would remember companies that do not seek refunds on duties now ruled unlawful. On Tuesday in remarks on CNBC, Trump said it would be “brilliant” if companies did not ask for the money back, even as U. S. Customs and Border Protection opened a portal for refund claims earlier in the week. The dispute matters because shippers, importers and customers are now trying to sort out who can file, who gets paid first and how quickly any money may move.
Refund claims begin as the process opens
UPS, FedEx and DHL have all moved to seek tariff refunds tied to the IEEPA tariffs that the Supreme Court ruled were illegally imposed in February. The claims process is limited: only the importer of record can request refunds through the CBP portal, which means individual consumers cannot file on their own.
CBP says successful applicants should receive refunds within 60 to 90 days after claim approval. But the companies involved have not disclosed the total amounts they are seeking, and the path from approval to repayment remains tied to the federal process.
For customers, that means the first step is not getting a check from a shipper. In many cases, the shipper must first receive the refund from the government before passing the money along to the payor.
Ups says customers will be reimbursed after government payment
A UPS spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the company is filing claims through CBP’s portal and said it will reimburse customers once the federal government approves the claims and sends the refunds. UPS said there is no need for customers to contact the company at this stage.
UPS also said, “For shipments where UPS was the IOR, we will work to request and retrieve IEEPA tariff refunds from CBP on our customers’ behalf. ” The company added that after funds arrive from CBP, it has a process to issue refunds to the payors.
FedEx gave a similar message, saying that if refunds are issued to the company, it will refund the shippers and consumers who originally bore the charges. DHL said it began submitting claims as soon as the portal opened and will pass refunds to the party that originally paid the duties. In this phase, Ups and the other shippers are acting as the crucial bridge between the government and the people who paid the tariffs.
Trump pressures companies not to pursue repayment
Trump’s comments added a political edge to what was already a technical claims process. He said he will “remember” U. S. companies that do not submit claims and called it “brilliant” if firms do not seek refunds. He also said the administration is working to restore tariff revenue using other authorities.
The Supreme Court ruling created the backdrop for what could become one of the largest repayment exercises by the federal government in history, but the details remain unsettled. Companies have already filed separate lawsuits to preserve their rights if the administration challenges repayment.
What consumers should watch next
For now, the most immediate issue is timing. CBP has opened the portal, shippers are filing claims, and customers who paid through those shippers are waiting to see when any recovered money moves back through the system. The clearest takeaway is that ups refunds will depend first on government approval, then on each company’s reimbursement process.
The next developments will likely center on how many claims are approved, how quickly CBP processes them and whether the administration continues to press companies to hold back. Until then, the refund fight remains live, with Ups at the center of the pressure and the paperwork.
