Businesses Queue for $175B in Tariff Refunds as Portal Stumbles

The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol opened its Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal Monday morning, creating a digital gateway for businesses to recover money paid under tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The refund program addresses tariffs the Supreme Court determined were unconstitutional, marking a significant reversal for businesses that absorbed the costs over the past year. Hours after launch, technical problems emerged. Rick Woldenberg, CEO of educational toy maker Learning Resources, received an error message reading "The system is currently experiencing high volume, please try again later" when attempting to file a claim. Other business owners reported similar rejections and processing failures throughout the day. Shawn Phetteplace, national campaigns director for Main Street Alliance, told CBS News that members of the small business network experienced difficulty submitting claims or were unable to file them entirely on Monday. The scope of potential refunds underscores the stakes. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol estimates the government owes up to $175 billion to tens of thousands of importers, with approximately $127 billion—or 82% of IEEPA duty payments—eligible for refunds through CAPE's initial deployment. As of April 9, more than 56,000 importers had registered to receive funds. The portal's initial phase covers only tariffs that have been estimated or finalized within the past 80 days, representing roughly 63% of eligible IEEPA tariffs paid. The application process has proven demanding. One small business owner submitted a claim at 8:01 a.m.—just one minute after the portal opened—only to discover he was number 1,500 in the digital queue, illustrating the surge in demand. CBP officials said they are investigating the technical problems and have pledged to issue refunds for approved claims within 60 to 90 days, though processing may take longer if applications contain errors requiring correction. The glitches highlight the challenges of deploying a large-scale government refund system under intense pressure. Businesses seeking reimbursement bear the burden of navigating the application process themselves, with no automatic refunds. Portal administrators have not announced immediate fixes, leaving thousands of importers to continue their attempts in coming days as the system attempts to stabilize.