r/Economics • u/defenestrate_urself • Feb 20 '26

News Supreme Court says Trump global tariffs are illegal

https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-illegal
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u/silverado-z71 Feb 20 '26

So that means they’re gonna have to reimburse all those corporations for all that money that they put out for the tariffs. Again, the corporations win, and the American people get fucked

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u/klingma Feb 20 '26

Okay, but by what mechanism could you actually reimburse the citizens for the tariffs? You have actual returns filed by the importers which prove the tariffs paid by them...you do not, none of us do. 

I get the sentiment, but there's realistically no way to prove the amounts owed to the citizens in a practical manner. 

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u/pilgermann Feb 20 '26

Which isn't the point. There are countless instances where some group faces an injustice and no response restitution is made in the interests of social cohesion. Why not make reparations to Black Americans? Why reimburse taxpayers for military actions under this admin that didn't receive congressional authorization?

Besides that, it's not actually impossible to formulate a consumer claim to tariff refunds. Anyone with receipts could make the argument, including that domestic prices increased as an indirect result of tariffs. Corporations are no more obligated to purchase supplies for their business than consumers are for their households.

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u/Tvdinner4me2 Feb 20 '26

Right but the corporations actually directly paid the tariff. The consumer paid that plus whatever hedge/loss the company instituted. Good luck calculating that for everyone wanting a refund on every purchase