WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is expected to issue the first refunds of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as early as May 11, according to court filings. The Supreme Court struck down President Trump's IEEPA tariffs in February.

U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton said in a court filing that the first tranche of IEEPA tariff refunds could land in businesses' bank accounts around May 11. The first refunds will come from the U.S. Treasury Department. The White House is estimated to have collected $166 billion in duties that it now owes back to importers.

On April 20, the federal government launched a portal called CAPE, short for the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries tool, where businesses could file refund requests for IEEPA tariffs. The portal briefly crashed when a large number of businesses visited the site after its debut, and has since been working as intended for most businesses. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has accepted roughly 21% of IEEPA duty refund requests, and 3% are already in the refund stage of the process.

Some importers were unable to access their Customs importer accounts and waited on hold for hours to resolve administrative errors. Beth Benike, co-founder of Busy Baby, a Minnesota-based maker of baby accessories, has not yet been able to apply for tens of thousands of dollars in IEEPA tariff refunds due to portal access issues.

Dahlia Rizk, owner of Buckle Me Baby, a Massachusetts-based kids' outerwear company, struggled to apply for $66,000 worth of IEEPA tariff refunds. Customs approved her refund request, which she expects to receive in the coming months.

"It was very difficult. I had a lot of trouble," Rizk said. "I shouldn't have had to call up Border Patrol and explain my entire life story."