“We Chewed Through Our Profits. Then Our Retirement.”

For Cat in the Bag, LLC in New Castle, Pennsylvania, the IEEPA tariffs were an existential threat. The company paid 50% tariffs for six months to receive inventory from India — resulting in between $60,000 and $70,000 in additional tariff costs.

For a small business, that is not a margin squeeze. That is survival on the line. As the company explains:

“Faced with this enormous increase in tariffs, we had options of abandoning our inventory in India and wrecking our relationship with our supplier there; abandoning our inventory at the port, facing legal consequences from CBP and ruining our relationship with our freight forwarder; or paying the tariffs. Any of those options besides paying the tariffs would have meant the end of our business. So, we chewed through our profits then a large chunk of our retirement savings, then increased a line of credit on our house to get those orders in. We put our hearts into it. We can’t put a price on that. But we would like the illegal tariff money refunded. Those tariffs were illegal so that money was stolen, and it should be returned.”

The Supreme Court has ruled the IEEPA tariffs unlawful. That decision matters. But Cat in the Bag has already paid $60,000–$70,000. A legal ruling does not replenish retirement accounts. It does not restore home equity. It does not undo the stress of nearly losing everything.

When tariffs are declared illegal, the remedy cannot stop at striking them down. Refunds must be full, fast, and automatic. Small businesses should not have to fight a second battle to reclaim money that should never have been collected.

📢 Take Action. If you are a small business who want’s their money back, add your name to our letter to Congress and the Administration. Sign the refund letter today and demand that unlawfully collected IEEPA tariffs be returned without delay.