An amendment that would direct the Senate to provide tariff refunds specifically for small businesses.
Provide tariff refunds specifically for small businesses.
Occurrences
In an effort to simplify and expedite the refund process, the bill mandates refunds of the invalidated tariffs by directing Customs and Border Protection to issue them automatically within 30 days and prioritize relief for small businesses most impacted.
Evidence
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Congress.gov lists S.2777 as introduced on 09/11/2025, read twice and referred to the Senate Finance Committee, with Sen. Angela D. Alsobrooks as an original cosponsor. The official title says the bill would exempt small business concerns from duties imposed under the April 2, 2025 national emergency and refund small business concerns any such duties paid.
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GovInfo bill text for S.3905 names Ms. Alsobrooks among the senators introducing the Tariff Refund Act of 2026, which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. The bill would require CBP to refund IEEPA duties with interest and includes small-business prioritization and outreach provisions.
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Alsobrooks' Senate office said that during vote-a-rama she also filed an amendment that would direct the Senate to provide tariff refunds specifically for small businesses.
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The Senate Small Business Committee release says lawmakers asked CBP to use existing records to automatically refund small businesses, and states that American small businesses had yet to receive their tariff refund following the Supreme Court decision. It lists Sen. Angela Alsobrooks as a co-signer.
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The CBP notice says CAPE would launch April 20, 2026 in the ACE Portal to provide an electronic path for valid IEEPA duty refund claims. It says importers and brokers may file Phase 1 refund requests, but Phase 1 excludes some categories including entries for which liquidation is final.
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The Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. A dissent noted the United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs.
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Most small businesses do not have an ACE account and instead enlist the assistance of a licensed customs broker to conduct business on their behalf. They will continue to be able, and are expected, to use their customs brokers for the IEEPA refunds process and CAPE.
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CBP is currently holding refunds for filers who do not have an ACH account on file in ACE. CBP will continue to do the same for IEEPA Refunds.
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CAP analysis estimates that approximately $35 billion of these refunds may be attributable to the nation’s roughly 234,000 identified small-business importers—equivalent to an estimated average of about $149,000 per importer.
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09-11-2025 | S.2777 | Small Business RELIEF Act Latest Action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Assessments
Verified evidence shows small businesses are included in the general IEEPA refund process and that some refunds may be attributable to small-business importers, but it does not verify enactment of a small-business-prioritized automatic refund program or material Alsobrooks contribution to the implemented refund process. Her verified commitment supports an effort badge, but outcome credit cannot be assigned without verified evidence tying the delivery to her legislation or amendment.
Alsobrooks made serious same-term efforts that closely matched the promise, including original cosponsorship of the Small Business RELIEF Act, support for the Tariff Refund Act, a filed vote-a-rama amendment, and oversight pressure for automatic refunds. But the small-business-specific refund bills and amendment were not enacted, and the CBP CAPE process is a general IEEPA tariff-refund mechanism rather than a refund program specifically for small businesses. The promised outcome has therefore not been delivered, though the effort badge is warranted.