PENSACOLA, Fla. — $166 billion in federal refunds is now up for grabs. The billions of dollars were all collected from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
This week, the president announced an online portal for businesses to file for reimbursements. Some businesses in Northwest Florida are ready to cash in, but with some hesitancy.
RELATED STORIES
For the last 47 years, Pensacola’s runway imports has specialized in repairing foreign-made cars.
“Pretty much, we’re a European shop,” said Ronald Blake, president of Runway Imports.
The foreign label means the parts are shipped from overseas. Blake says they’re now spending $30,000 a month on car parts. That’s about $10,000 more than the typical costs.
“We’ve had to raise labor rates to compensate for the loss of income on the parts, and also for our technicians to be able to keep up with the cost of living,” Blake said.
Blake says he’s been facing higher fees for the last four to five months. Business experts say the pressure is widespread, affecting all American retailers who sell imported goods.
“That’s put an extra layer of taxation on them, which has caused a lot of businesses to raise their prices to cover the cost of these tariffs,” said Will Wirth of Better Business Bureau Northwest Florida.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Trump’s tariffs were unconstitutional, the president directed people to an online portal for businesses to file for refunds.
The government collected $166 billion in tariffs from 330,000 importers. Wirth says this new system for refunds could bring relief for businesses.
“So if this is corrected with the tariff-free fund, then hopefully businesses will be able to bounce back and offer more and again, hopefully lower their prices and hire more people,” said Wirth.
Blake says he plans to apply for the refund for Runway Imports, but still has some concerns.
“We get a refund, but the customer is out that extra money that we’ve had to charge them,” Blake said. “So I have mixed feelings on it, but yeah, I’ll take it.”
These refunds are only available for businesses. Individual consumers who have paid extra tariff fees are not eligible to apply.