{"id":42992,"date":"2026-04-13T15:51:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=42992"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:51:07","slug":"tariff-refunds-unlikely-to-benefit-consumers-cnbc-cfo-council-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=42992","title":{"rendered":"Tariff refunds unlikely to benefit consumers: CNBC CFO Council survey"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Even though the Supreme Court\u00a0struck down a large portion <\/a>of President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda \u2014 with a judge later\u00a0ordering<\/a>\u00a0the government to prepare to potentially pay billions of dollars in refunds to importers who paid the tariffs \u2014 consumers shouldn’t expect to see any money back.<\/p>\n

That’s according to the latest CNBC CFO Council quarterly survey.\u00a0While 12 of the 25 chief financial officers said their company plans to apply for tariff refunds, none said they intend to directly share that money with customers. <\/p>\n

Six of those polled said they did not plan to pass on any portion of the tariff refunds they might receive, seven were not sure and 12 answered “not applicable.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Read more CNBC personal finance coverage<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ten of the executives in the C-suite\u00a0said they think it could take a year or longer to receive repayment, and only three of the CFOs expected repayment this year. The other 12 CFOs said they do not plan to apply for tariff refunds.<\/p>\n

The CFO Council survey is a sampling of views from chief financial officers at large organizations across sectors of the U.S. economy. CFO Council members took the survey between March 23 and April 2. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the legal battle over Trump’s tariffs is far from\u00a0over. The same day the Supreme Court ruled<\/a>\u00a0in February that “reciprocal tariffs<\/a>” were illegal, Trump\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0a new “global tariff” rate of 10% under a separate statute, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, for a period of 150 days. He later said he would increase<\/a> global tariffs to 15%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Chancellor Merz (CDU) at the White House. Topics include the war in Iran, the tariff dispute between the EU and the USA, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and China policy. <\/p>\n

Kay Nietfeld | Picture Alliance | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tariffs are taxes on imports from foreign nations and are paid by U.S. entities that import the item.\u00a0Businesses often bear some of the cost<\/a>\u00a0and pass on the rest to consumers through\u00a0higher prices<\/a>. In this way, tariffs have had an overall\u00a0inflationary<\/a>\u00a0impact on the economy, economists say. <\/p>\n

Even if companies were to receive refunds, the CNBC CFO Council survey results are “not a surprise,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.<\/p>\n

After factoring in the hefty toll on U.S. businesses, including higher costs and supply chain adjustments to reduce tariff exposure, CFOs may be thinking “this is just compensation,” Zandi said, “they are going to hold on to those [refunds].” <\/p>\n

The Trump administration may pressure companies to pass those savings on, he added, “but that will be very difficult to do.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Where tariff rebate efforts stand<\/h2>\n
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The president has floated the idea of putting some tariff revenue directly in the hands of Americans, in the form of a tariff dividend check. However, any such broad-based benefit program would require legislation passed by Congress. <\/p>\n

Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to capitalize on\u00a0Trump’s tariff agenda<\/a>\u00a0ahead of the\u00a02026 midterm elections<\/a>. No legislation has been approved yet, although several tariff refund bills have been introduced in Congress. <\/p>\n

Last year, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0American Worker Rebate Act of 2025<\/a>, which pitched a stimulus check funded with tariff revenue. The Senate referred that bill to the Committee on Finance, where it remains.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In March of this year, Sen.\u00a0Martin Heinrich<\/a>, D-N.M., introduced another bill<\/a>\u00a0that would create a new\u00a0tax rebate<\/a>\u00a0for those hit by higher costs for everyday items due to the now-defunct tariff regime. Heinrich’s bill, dubbed the Tariff Refunds for Working Families Act, would tap the\u00a0$166 billion collected by the tariffs<\/a>\u00a0to fund the new rebate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That legislation has also been referred to the Committee on Finance.<\/p>\n

Other efforts, including the Trump Tariff Rebate Act introduced by Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and the American Consumer Tariff Rebate Act of 2026, introduced by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, are sitting in House committees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The likelihood of tariff refunds passing in Congress still seems remote,” said certified financial planner Stephen Kates, a financial analyst at Bankrate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“A Republican-backed bill would all but admit that tariffs were a policy mistake, even if it would be initially popular to send out checks,” he said. “Democrats have little incentive to support such a measure ahead of the midterms, since the costs of tariffs and higher gas prices are widely associated with Republicans.”<\/p>\n

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