Exporters Looks For Ways To Get A Share In $10–12 Billion Of India-Linked US Tariff Refunds

Despite the United States being the largest export destination for Indian goods, the tariff refund exercise by the Donald Trump administration may not directly benefit local companies.

The US Supreme Court in February struck down the imposition of import tariffs by Trump, finding it unconstitutional.

According to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), about $10–12 billion of the total refunds are linked to goods sourced from India.

However, it was American importers or customs brokers who paid the tariffs to the US government. Hence, they are eligible to file for tariff refunds, not Indian exporters.

It will be the American companies that will get the refunds. To benefit from the refund exercise, Indian exporters may need to reach out to the American companies that imported Indian goods.

Indian exporters can ask US importers to share the tariff refunds, or a benefit can be sought in future sales of goods.

It is estimated that the Trump administration will have to make a total refund of about $166 billion.

Most of the refunds for India-linked goods may come from a handful of sectors, according to the report.

The highest amount of refunds is tied to the Indian textiles and apparel sector, with about $4 billion paid in tariffs.

Exports of engineering goods also faced tariffs of about $4 billion, while shipments of chemicals and related products incurred a tax of $2 billion.

It has been only a day since the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched a new online portal called CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system).

So far, over 56,000 importers have registered to claim refunds on about $127 billion of tariffs collected.

The refunds are expected to be made within two to three months of filing claims.

If Indian exporters are able to get their share of the tariffs paid, it would bring some relief on the liquidity front for companies reeling under the impact of the war.