Tariff refund portal off to bumpy start as some businesses report glitches

Several businesses have encountered issues while trying to access the U.S. government’s new tariff refund portal, which launched recently. Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of Learning Resources, a company that makes educational toys, reported receiving an error message when attempting to file a claim for a tariff refund using the new CAPE platform. The message stated, “The system is currently experiencing high volume, please try again later.”

Woldenberg, who filed a lawsuit in 2025 that led to the Supreme Court striking down the Trump administration’s emergency tariffs in February, expressed his frustration with the overwhelmed system. The federal agency operating CAPE, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), acknowledged the reports of problems with the system and stated that they are investigating the issue.

Importers are now owed up to $175 billion in refunds for the tariffs imposed by President Trump last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Beth Benike, the co-founder of Busy Baby, a baby products manufacturer based in Minnesota, shared her experience of spending over four hours on hold with CBP over the weekend trying to resolve an issue with her account needed to file tariff refund claims.

CAPE mandates importers to have an account in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the platform CBP uses to process imports and exports and collect tariff revenue. Benike encountered an error message stating ‘Duplicate tax ID,’ which indicated that her importer account was linked to someone else’s. Despite receiving a ticket number from CBP, she has not received any response yet.

Shawn Phetteplace, the national campaigns director for Main Street Alliance, voiced disappointment over the major issues with the portal, stressing the urgency of processing tariff refunds promptly. Al Fine, the founder and CEO of Dame, a sexual health and wellness company, expressed her hopes of submitting a tariff refund claim on Monday, emphasizing that the money would be a significant relief for her business.

As of April 9, over 56,000 U.S. importers had registered to receive refunds, with up to 82% of IEEPA duty payments, totaling $127 billion, eligible for refunds in CAPE’s initial rollout. The system will initially accept requests for estimated tariffs and those finalized by CBP within the past 80 days. CBP aims to issue tariff refunds for valid claims within 60 to 90 days of approval, with potential delays if claims contain errors requiring correction.

There have been discussions about whether consumers should also be reimbursed for any price hikes or tariff surcharges imposed by companies during the duties. However, many businesses argue that the additional costs were not fully covered by price increases. Aaron Powell, the founder of Bunch Bikes, an electric bike manufacturer, shared how the company’s profit margin decreased and sales suffered despite raising prices. Powell expects to face additional tariffs in the future, impacting the company’s finances further.