WARREN, Ohio – Companies that applied for compensation under the federal government’s tariff reimbursement program are now starting to see refunds deposited in their business accounts, indicating the process is moving forward.
“We have received refunds on two occasions now,” said Sam Miller, president of Trumbull Industries Inc., Warren. “We have more to go, but our estimate is that a little more than half of our refunds have been received thus far.”
Trumbull Industries is a local distributor of bathroom and kitchen products, as well as pipes, valves, cabinets, appliances, countertops and industrial supplies. It serves mechanical contractors, home builders and remodelers, industrial and commercial accounts, retailers and e-commerce customers.
Approximately 60% of the business is distribution, while another 40% is through the sale of manufactured products that the company mostly sources from overseas, Miller said. Of that segment, between 80% and 85% of those goods are produced in China, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Spain and Italy, and then shipped to the U.S.
Miller told The Business Journal in May that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration last year resulted in “multimillions of dollars” in additional payments.
In February, the Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed in 2025 by President Donald Trump through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unconstitutional. The decision triggered a scramble on developing a process to refund money to those importers that had paid the additional levies. These tariffs – especially those slapped on China – reached levels as high as 55% when combined with existing tariffs.
A blanket 10% tariff on goods imported to the United States was imposed in February under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, shortly after the Supreme Court ruling. These rules are set to expire July 24.
Nevertheless, it’s likely these tariffs will be replaced by another levy under Section 301, which would impact trade with 60 countries at a rate between 10% and 12.5%.
On April 20, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol launched a new web portal that allows those seeking refunds to apply online. The refunds would include those affected by Trump’s Emergency Powers Act tariffs and not those implemented under Section 122.
Among those major corporations expecting large refunds are automakers. Ford Motor Co. said in April that it estimates tariff refunds of $1.3 billion, while General Motors Co. reported it anticipated tariff refunds totaling approximately $500 million. The prospective refund boosted the automaker’s revenue guidance by $500 million for 2026.
Miller said the first reimbursement payment showed up approximately one month ago – two months after the business filed its applications. In his case, the refunds arrived unannounced without any notification they were en route.
“Everyone files their requests, and no one really knows when they’ll take place,” Miller said. “They just occur.”
The federal government is on the hook to repay approximately $166 billion to firms across the country that imported goods that qualify under the ruling, said Mousa Kassis, director of the Export Assistance Network at the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Youngstown State University.
The EAN has helped several local companies through the process of applying through the CBP’s web portal, but once those applications are filed, the company deals directly with the border patrol. “We’ve just directed them what to do,” he said. “They have to connect directly with the CBP’s portal.”
Kassis said several of the EAN’s client companies have reported receiving reimbursements. “For the most part, we haven’t heard of any companies saying they haven’t been paid or have problems or glitches, unless it was internal such as reporting something wrong on their documents.”
As such, reporting issues have led to refunds being delayed for some companies.
“This has never been done before, so there isn’t really a clear process,” said Mark Lamoncha, CEO of Humtown Products, which has divisions in Boardman and Columbiana.
In April, Humtown applied for reimbursements totaling $154,000 on two pieces of advanced 3D printing equipment that were manufactured in China. However, there was some confusion as to how to apply for the refund since the company worked through a broker who handled the importing process.
“We thought we would get the refund back from the broker,” Lamoncha said. “But we actually had to build our own account with the government and set ourselves up as an importer.”
The company is in the midst of filing a protest with the government over the status of its refund application, Lamoncha said.
He noted that glitches such as these are to be expected since the refunding model was set up in such a short period of time following February’s Supreme Court decision.
“When it’s something new like this, it’s hard for the department to set up and build it,” he said. “It still needs a little help.”