New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is demanding $13.5 billion in tariff refunds for New Yorkers following last week’s Supreme Court ruling overturning the bulk of President Trump’s import taxes.
The sweeping tariffs enacted by Trump last year cost New York households $1,751 each – adding up to a total of $13.5 billion across the state, Hochul said in a press release, citing a study from the Yale Budget Lab.
“These senseless and illegal tariffs were just a tax on New York consumers, small businesses and farmers – and that’s why I’m demanding a full refund,” the governor said in a Tuesday statement.
“I’ll never stop fighting for New Yorkers, and that means staying focused on putting more money back in your pockets – not ripping it away.”
The Post has sought comment from the New York State Republican Party.
It’s highly unlikely that consumers will ever see tariff refunds, though many companies have already rushed to sue the US government to get their import tax payments returned.
Trump on Tuesday slapped a broad 10% tariff on global imports, with plans to hike the rate to 15%.
Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether New York consumers should expect to see refunds, or what form they could take.
In January, she unveiled a proposal for $30 million in tariff relief for New York farmers.
The governor on Tuesday doubled down on the detrimental impact of tariffs on farmers, noting that the vast majority of agrochemical and farm machinery imports are facing tariffs of 10% or more.
Farmers statewide are also swallowing higher costs for fertilizer and equipment – with some dishing out an additional $20,000 annually, according to the governor’s press release.
The Supreme Court threw a wrench in Trump’s trade agenda last week with its 6-3 ruling striking down his anti-fentanyl and so-called “reciprocal” tariffs.
It found that Trump exceeded his presidential authority when he used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to enact the levies, citing “national emergencies” related to trade imbalances and drug smuggling.
The stunning decision put an estimated $175 billion in tariff revenue already collected over the past year in jeopardy, and complicated the fate of Trump’s deals with several major trading partners.
It also appeared to undermine Trump’s promise to send out $2,000 “tariff dividend” checks to the majority of Americans by this year’s midterm elections.
Dishing out $2,000 to low- and middle-income Americans would cost as much as $600 billion – twice the revenue previously expected from all of Trump’s tariffs, including those that have been overturned, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Some of Trump’s tariffs will remain in place for now, like his taxes on steel, aluminum and furniture – but revenue from those taxes wouldn’t be enough to make up the difference from the ones nixed by the Supreme Court.
Dissenting Justice Brett Kavanaugh last week noted that the decision would have serious consequences in the near term, particularly when it comes to tariff refunds.
“The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers,” he wrote. “But that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’ as was acknowledged at oral argument.”
