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Why Refunds Aren't a Windfall: WPT's Dan Anthony on CNN
- We Pay the Tariffs
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
We Pay the Tariffs wanted to highlight recent comments from our Executive Director, Dan Anthony, on CNN as questions continue to surface around how tariff refunds may, or may not, translate into consumer price relief. Dan’s message aligns closely with concerns we've heard from partner organizations across the business community, and undercuts certain efforts to politicize the refunds as a “windfall." We wanted to share them as a resource.
A few of Dan's key points:
On the real value of refunds for businesses that financed tariff payments: “Refunds will include interest. But if you took out a high-interest loan or paid with a credit card, getting that smaller percentage back from the government three months from now – for something you paid a year ago – is still not going to cover a lot of those costs you're incurring day to day.”
On the administration's intent to reimpose tariffs under new authorities:“The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to reimpose tariffs under different legal authorities… Everybody is still paying tariffs today while waiting for refunds from maybe a year ago.”
On where refund dollars will go: “A lot of the folks we hear from have big plans for what they'd do with that money, but instead it's going to sit there — it'll pay for future tariffs and it'll pay off those past loans.”
On why consumer prices won't simply come back down: “You saw tariff rates sometimes up to 145%. No one saw price increases like that. Companies might have been paying 15, 20, 30% more and raised their prices 2 or 3% to recoup what they could. A lot of that was borne by the companies themselves in the hopes this would go away."
Here’s the bottom line, as Executive Director Dan Anthony puts it: "Small businesses' plans to lower prices or increase hiring largely have been erased by the administration doubling down on new tariffs. Top refund priorities relate to climbing out of last year's hole by paying down debt and replenishing inventory. At the same time, many feel the need to set money aside to prepare for future tariffs that are less susceptible to legal challenges. If consumers want prices to go down, they must demand an end to the tariffs."
Watch the interview below or on YouTube.
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