To the President and the United States Congress.

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In the event that the Supreme Court rules that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) exceed the President’s lawful authority, we call on the Administration and Congress to ensure that American small businesses receive full, automatic, and fast refunds of all unlawfully collected tariff payments. As small businesses that form the backbone of the U.S. economy, we believe policymakers must know:

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We paid the tariffs. We deserve our money back. American small businesses—not foreign governments—paid billions of dollars in IEEPA tariffs. We have dipped into personal savings, taken out high-interest loans, laid off employees, and cut wages to cover costs that were never lawfully imposed. If the Supreme Court strikes down these tariffs, every dollar collected must be returned.

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Small businesses cannot fight for what they are owed. We do not have large legal departments or customs teams. We cannot afford to hire lawyers, navigate complex claims processes, or spend months filing paperwork to recover money that never should have been collected. The government has records of every tariff payment. Refunds must be automatic, meaning that they are issued directly to importers of record without requiring individual applications.

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We cannot wait years for relief. Small businesses operate on tight margins and short timelines. Many of us have already exhausted our reserves. A refund that arrives in two or three years is not meaningful relief for a business struggling to make payroll today. For many of us, a timely refund is the difference between rehiring workers, restoring wages, and reinvesting in growth, or closing our doors for good. Refunds must be fast, measured in days or weeks, not months or years.

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The Administration should direct Customs and Border Protection to begin issuing refunds immediately using existing payment records. If legislation is needed, Congress should act without delay. This is not a partisan issue. Every dollar refunded to a small business is a dollar injected back into American communities, creating jobs, supporting families, and strengthening Main Street.

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We paid the tariffs. We are owed our money back, without having to fight for it, and without having to wait.