Warren Presses Apple, Amazon and Others to Pass Tariff Refunds to Customers

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing large U.S. companies to share the money they are recovering from invalidated tariffs with the customers who paid higher prices.

Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, sent letters Friday to Apple, Amazon, Energizer, Motorola, Nike, Target and Walmart seeking information about the size of the refunds they are receiving for import duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In February, the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs invalid, finding that President Trump lacked the authority to impose them.

The federal government has refunded more than $100 billion in IEEPA tariffs to businesses, or about 60% of what it owes importers, according to a court filing this week. Warren says consumers, who absorbed part of those costs through higher prices, are not seeing comparable relief.

"Importers pushed the costs of tariffs onto American consumers and small businesses — with estimates showing that American families will have ended up paying 95% of the tariffs," she wrote, citing Congressional Budget Office data. "But American families have no recourse for the increased prices they paid."

Warren asked the companies to disclose how much they paid in IEEPA tariffs, what refunds they have received or expect, and how they plan to spend the money. Amazon has said it received $600 million in refunds. Apple received a $2.2 billion refund, according to its third-quarter earnings report, Warren said, noting the company raised prices on iPhone and MacBook products this year.

None of the companies immediately responded to a request for comment.

Refunds go only to the importer that paid the duties, said Nick Baker, co-lead of trade and customs at the risk advisory firm Kroll. "So if and when there is a refund, it might not get to the person who paid it," he said.

That gap has fueled class-action suits. Nike customers allege the company "stands to recover the same tariff payments twice." Amazon's chief financial officer, Brian Olsavsky, said on a July 30 earnings call that the company "largely absorbed those costs." FedEx has opened a refund portal, and UPS has pledged automatic refunds.

Katelyn Hifferty of Morgan Lewis said much of the underlying information is not public. "Right now, it's a little unclear what the chances of success are," she said.