2026 04 24 Markey Again Calls To White House Ranking Member Markey Again Calls On Big Busi - 2026 04 24 Markey Again Calls To White House.
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- 2026 04 24 Markey Again Calls To White House Ranking Member Markey Again Calls On Big Busi
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- 2026-04-24
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- 2026 04 24 Markey Again Calls To White House Ranking Member Markey Again Calls On Big Businesses To
Summary
A set of letters dated April 22, 2026 from Edward J. Markey, Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, to chief executives of companies including Walmart, Inc., United Parcel Service, FedEx Corporation, DHL Supply Chain North America and Costco Wholesale Corporation. Each letter follows up on a letter of March 12, 2026 and urges the company to pass refunds of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) on to consumers and small businesses. The letters cite Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, state that U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened its CAPE refund portal on April 20, and state that refunds owed total $166 billion. Each asks five written questions about expected refunds and plans to return them, with responses requested by May 13, 2026.
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April 22, 2026
Mr. John Furner
Chief Executive Officer, Walmart, Inc.
702 S.W. 8th Street
Bentonville, AR 72716
Dear Mr. Furner,
I write following up on my letter of March 12, 2026, in which I urged your company to
commit to refunding the U.S. consumers and small businesses who paid for the Trump
administration’s unlawful tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA). Since I first wrote to you, important developments have made this request more urgent
and more actionable. On Monday, April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened
its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal through which
companies can submit refund claims for illegally collected IEEPA tariffs. With this portal now
operational, your company can now submit its claim for tariff refunds. The question that now
demands a clear and prompt answer is: What concrete steps will your company take to pass those
refunds on to the consumers and small businesses who paid for the tariffs in the first place?
To reiterate: In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s
IEEPA tariffs were illegal. 1 U.S. consumers and businesses paid up to 90% of the cost of these
unlawful tariffs. 2 Refunds owed total $166 billion, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), with hundreds of millions of dollars more due in interest. 3 You have a legal
and ethical obligation to make consumers whole.
Several companies have already pledged to return tariff refunds to their customers. Your
company’s customers deserve no less. Now that the refund process has been initiated, I ask that
you move promptly and transparently to do so.
1
607 U.S. ___ (2026)
2
Megan Cerullo, Consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of Trump tariffs in 2025, new analysis found, CBS
News (Feb. 18, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tariffs-consumers-business-nearly-90-percent-new-
york-federal-reserve/.
3
See David Lawder, Trump Tariff Refunds May Total up to $182 Billion, Estimates Find, Reuters (Mar. 5, 2026),
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-tariff-refunds-may-total-up-182-billion-estimates-find-2026-03-
05/.
Page 2
To help me and the public understand how your company intends to proceed, please
respond to the following questions in writing by Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
(1) What is the total amount of refunds, including interest, that your company expects to
receive?
(2) What specific steps has your company taken, or does it plan to take, to refund IEEPA
tariff payments to the small businesses and customers who originally bore those costs?
Please describe in detail the process your company will use, including the mechanism for
distributing refunds (e.g., direct payment, account credit, price reduction), the timeline
for doing so, and the estimated share of refunds that will be returned to consumers.
(3) If your company has not yet committed to issuing refunds to customers, what factors are
you weighing in making that decision, and by what date do you expect to announce your
policy?
(4) How will your company notify customers who may be eligible for tariff-related refunds
about the availability of those refunds and the process for claiming them?
(5) If any portion of the tariff refunds your company receives will not be returned to
customers and small businesses, please explain why and describe how those funds will
instead be used.
The American people have waited long enough for relief from the economic harm caused
by these unlawful tariffs. With the government’s refund machinery now in motion, I urge your
company to act with urgency and transparency to ensure that the customers who bore these costs
are made whole. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Edward J. Markey
Ranking Member, Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
April 22, 2026
Ms. Carol B. Tomé
Chief Executive, United Parcel Service
55 Glenlake Parkway NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
Dear Ms. Tomé,
I write following up on my letter of March 12, 2026, in which I urged your company to
commit to refunding the U.S. consumers and small businesses who paid for the Trump
administration’s unlawful tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA). Since I first wrote to you, important developments have made this request more urgent
and more actionable. On Monday, April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened
its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal through which
companies can submit refund claims for illegally collected IEEPA tariffs. With this portal now
operational, your company can now submit its claim for tariff refunds. The question that now
demands a clear and prompt answer is: What concrete steps will your company take to pass those
refunds on to the consumers and small businesses who paid for the tariffs in the first place?
To reiterate: In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s
IEEPA tariffs were illegal. 1 U.S. consumers and businesses paid up to 90% of the cost of these
unlawful tariffs. 2 Refunds owed total $166 billion, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), with hundreds of millions of dollars more due in interest. 3 You have a legal
and ethical obligation to make consumers whole.
Several companies have already pledged to return tariff refunds to their customers. Your
company’s customers deserve no less. Now that the refund process has been initiated, I ask that
you move promptly and transparently to do so.
1
607 U.S. ___ (2026)
2
Megan Cerullo, Consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of Trump tariffs in 2025, new analysis found, CBS
News (Feb. 18, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tariffs-consumers-business-nearly-90-percent-new-
york-federal-reserve/.
3
See David Lawder, Trump Tariff Refunds May Total up to $182 Billion, Estimates Find, Reuters (Mar. 5, 2026),
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-tariff-refunds-may-total-up-182-billion-estimates-find-2026-03-
05/.
Page 2
To help me and the public understand how your company intends to proceed, please
respond to the following questions in writing by Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
(1) What is the total amount of refunds, including interest, that your company expects to
receive?
(2) What specific steps has your company taken, or does it plan to take, to refund IEEPA
tariff payments to the small businesses and customers who originally bore those costs?
Please describe in detail the process your company will use, including the mechanism for
distributing refunds (e.g., direct payment, account credit, price reduction), the timeline
for doing so, and the estimated share of refunds that will be returned to consumers.
(3) If your company has not yet committed to issuing refunds to customers, what factors are
you weighing in making that decision, and by what date do you expect to announce your
policy?
(4) How will your company notify customers who may be eligible for tariff-related refunds
about the availability of those refunds and the process for claiming them?
(5) If any portion of the tariff refunds your company receives will not be returned to
customers and small businesses, please explain why and describe how those funds will
instead be used.
The American people have waited long enough for relief from the economic harm caused
by these unlawful tariffs. With the government’s refund machinery now in motion, I urge your
company to act with urgency and transparency to ensure that the customers who bore these costs
are made whole. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Edward J. Markey
Ranking Member, Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
April 22, 2026
Mr. Rajesh Subramaniam
President and Chief Executive Officer
FedEx Corporation
942 South Shady Grove Road
Memphis, Tennessee 38120
Dear Mr. Subramaniam,
I write following up on my letter of March 12, 2026, in which I urged your company to
commit to refunding the U.S. consumers and small businesses who paid for the Trump
administration’s unlawful tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA). Since I first wrote to you, important developments have made this request more urgent
and more actionable. On Monday, April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened
its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal through which
companies can submit refund claims for illegally collected IEEPA tariffs. With this portal now
operational, your company can now submit its claim for tariff refunds. The question that now
demands a clear and prompt answer is: What concrete steps will your company take to pass those
refunds on to the consumers and small businesses who paid for the tariffs in the first place?
To reiterate: In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s
IEEPA tariffs were illegal. 1 U.S. consumers and businesses paid up to 90% of the cost of these
unlawful tariffs. 2 Refunds owed total $166 billion, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), with hundreds of millions of dollars more due in interest. 3 You have a legal
and ethical obligation to make consumers whole.
Several companies have already pledged to return tariff refunds to their customers. Your
company’s customers deserve no less. Now that the refund process has been initiated, I ask that
you move promptly and transparently to do so.
1
607 U.S. ___ (2026)
2
Megan Cerullo, Consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of Trump tariffs in 2025, new analysis found, CBS
News (Feb. 18, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tariffs-consumers-business-nearly-90-percent-new-
york-federal-reserve/.
3
See David Lawder, Trump Tariff Refunds May Total up to $182 Billion, Estimates Find, Reuters (Mar. 5, 2026),
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-tariff-refunds-may-total-up-182-billion-estimates-find-2026-03-
05/.
Page 2
To help me and the public understand how your company intends to proceed, please
respond to the following questions in writing by Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
(1) What is the total amount of refunds, including interest, that your company expects to
receive?
(2) What specific steps has your company taken, or does it plan to take, to refund IEEPA
tariff payments to the small businesses and customers who originally bore those costs?
Please describe in detail the process your company will use, including the mechanism for
distributing refunds (e.g., direct payment, account credit, price reduction), the timeline
for doing so, and the estimated share of refunds that will be returned to consumers.
(3) If your company has not yet committed to issuing refunds to customers, what factors are
you weighing in making that decision, and by what date do you expect to announce your
policy?
(4) How will your company notify customers who may be eligible for tariff-related refunds
about the availability of those refunds and the process for claiming them?
(5) If any portion of the tariff refunds your company receives will not be returned to
customers and small businesses, please explain why and describe how those funds will
instead be used.
The American people have waited long enough for relief from the economic harm caused
by these unlawful tariffs. With the government’s refund machinery now in motion, I urge your
company to act with urgency and transparency to ensure that the customers who bore these costs
are made whole. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Edward J. Markey
Ranking Member, Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
April 22, 2026
Dr. Tobias Meyer
Chief Executive Officer, Global Business
Services
c/o Mr. Mark Kunar, CEO, DHL Supply Chain
North America
570 Polaris Parkway
Westerville, Ohio, 43082
Dear Dr. Meyer and Mr. Kunar,
I write following up on my letter of March 12, 2026, in which I urged your company to
commit to refunding the U.S. consumers and small businesses who paid for the Trump
administration’s unlawful tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA). Since I first wrote to you, important developments have made this request more urgent
and more actionable. On Monday, April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened
its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal through which
companies can submit refund claims for illegally collected IEEPA tariffs. With this portal now
operational, your company can now submit its claim for tariff refunds. The question that now
demands a clear and prompt answer is: What concrete steps will your company take to pass those
refunds on to the consumers and small businesses who paid for the tariffs in the first place?
To reiterate: In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s
IEEPA tariffs were illegal. 1 U.S. consumers and businesses paid up to 90% of the cost of these
unlawful tariffs. 2 Refunds owed total $166 billion, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), with hundreds of millions of dollars more due in interest. 3 You have a legal
and ethical obligation to make consumers whole.
1
607 U.S. ___ (2026)
2
Megan Cerullo, Consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of Trump tariffs in 2025, new analysis found, CBS
News (Feb. 18, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tariffs-consumers-business-nearly-90-percent-new-
york-federal-reserve/.
3
See David Lawder, Trump Tariff Refunds May Total up to $182 Billion, Estimates Find, Reuters (Mar. 5, 2026),
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-tariff-refunds-may-total-up-182-billion-estimates-find-2026-03-
05/.
Page 2
Several companies have already pledged to return tariff refunds to their customers. Your
company’s customers deserve no less. Now that the refund process has been initiated, I ask that
you move promptly and transparently to do so.
To help me and the public understand how your company intends to proceed, please
respond to the following questions in writing by Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
(1) What is the total amount of refunds, including interest, that your company expects to
receive?
(2) What specific steps has your company taken, or does it plan to take, to refund IEEPA
tariff payments to the small businesses and customers who originally bore those costs?
Please describe in detail the process your company will use, including the mechanism for
distributing refunds (e.g., direct payment, account credit, price reduction), the timeline
for doing so, and the estimated share of refunds that will be returned to consumers.
(3) If your company has not yet committed to issuing refunds to customers, what factors are
you weighing in making that decision, and by what date do you expect to announce your
policy?
(4) How will your company notify customers who may be eligible for tariff-related refunds
about the availability of those refunds and the process for claiming them?
(5) If any portion of the tariff refunds your company receives will not be returned to
customers and small businesses, please explain why and describe how those funds will
instead be used.
The American people have waited long enough for relief from the economic harm caused
by these unlawful tariffs. With the government’s refund machinery now in motion, I urge your
company to act with urgency and transparency to ensure that the customers who bore these costs
are made whole. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Edward J. Markey
Ranking Member, Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
April 22, 2026
Mr. Ron Vachris
CEO, Costco Wholesale Corporation
999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, Washington 98027
Dear Mr. Vachris,
I write following up on my letter of March 12, 2026, in which I urged your company to
commit to refunding the U.S. consumers and small businesses who paid for the Trump
administration’s unlawful tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA). Since I first wrote to you, important developments have made this request more urgent
and more actionable. On Monday, April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened
its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal through which
companies can submit refund claims for illegally collected IEEPA tariffs. With this portal now
operational, your company can now submit its claim for tariff refunds. The question that now
demands a clear and prompt answer is: What concrete steps will your company take to pass those
refunds on to the consumers and small businesses who paid for the tariffs in the first place?
To reiterate: In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s
IEEPA tariffs were illegal. 1 U.S. consumers and businesses paid up to 90% of the cost of these
unlawful tariffs. 2 Refunds owed total $166 billion, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), with hundreds of millions of dollars more due in interest. 3 You have a legal
and ethical obligation to make consumers whole.
Several companies have already pledged to return tariff refunds to their customers. Your
company’s customers deserve no less. Now that the refund process has been initiated, I ask that
you move promptly and transparently to do so.
1
607 U.S. ___ (2026)
2
Megan Cerullo, Consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of Trump tariffs in 2025, new analysis found, CBS
News (Feb. 18, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tariffs-consumers-business-nearly-90-percent-new-
york-federal-reserve/.
3
See David Lawder, Trump Tariff Refunds May Total up to $182 Billion, Estimates Find, Reuters (Mar. 5, 2026),
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-tariff-refunds-may-total-up-182-billion-estimates-find-2026-03-
05/.
Page 2
To help me and the public understand how your company intends to proceed, please
respond to the following questions in writing by Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
(1) What is the total amount of refunds, including interest, that your company expects to
receive?
(2) What specific steps has your company taken, or does it plan to take, to refund IEEPA
tariff payments to the small businesses and customers who originally bore those costs?
Please describe in detail the process your company will use, including the mechanism for
distributing refunds (e.g., direct payment, account credit, price reduction), the timeline
for doing so, and the estimated share of refunds that will be returned to consumers.
(3) If your company has not yet committed to issuing refunds to customers, what factors are
you weighing in making that decision, and by what date do you expect to announce your
policy?
(4) How will your company notify customers who may be eligible for tariff-related refunds
about the availability of those refunds and the process for claiming them?
(5) If any portion of the tariff refunds your company receives will not be returned to
customers and small businesses, please explain why and describe how those funds will
instead be used.
The American people have waited long enough for relief from the economic harm caused
by these unlawful tariffs. With the government’s refund machinery now in motion, I urge your
company to act with urgency and transparency to ensure that the customers who bore these costs
are made whole. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Edward J. Markey
Ranking Member, Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
April 22, 2026
Mr. Andrew R. Jassy
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Amazon.com, Inc.
410 Terry Avenue North
Seattle, Washington 98109-5210
Dear Mr. Jassy,
I write following up on my letter of March 12, 2026, in which I urged your company to
commit to refunding the U.S. consumers and small businesses who paid for the Trump
administration’s unlawful tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA). Since I first wrote to you, important developments have made this request more urgent
and more actionable. On Monday, April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened
its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal through which
companies can submit refund claims for illegally collected IEEPA tariffs. With this portal now
operational, your company can now submit its claim for tariff refunds. The question that now
demands a clear and prompt answer is: What concrete steps will your company take to pass those
refunds on to the consumers and small businesses who paid for the tariffs in the first place?
To reiterate: In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s
IEEPA tariffs were illegal. 1 U.S. consumers and businesses paid up to 90% of the cost of these
unlawful tariffs. 2 Refunds owed total $166 billion, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), with hundreds of millions of dollars more due in interest. 3 You have a legal
and ethical obligation to make consumers whole.
Several companies have already pledged to return tariff refunds to their customers. Your
company’s customers deserve no less. Now that the refund process has been initiated, I ask that
you move promptly and transparently to do so.
1
607 U.S. ___ (2026)
2
Megan Cerullo, Consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of Trump tariffs in 2025, new analysis found, CBS
News (Feb. 18, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tariffs-consumers-business-nearly-90-percent-new-
york-federal-reserve/.
3
See David Lawder, Trump Tariff Refunds May Total up to $182 Billion, Estimates Find, Reuters (Mar. 5, 2026),
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-tariff-refunds-may-total-up-182-billion-estimates-find-2026-03-
05/.
Page 2
To help me and the public understand how your company intends to proceed, please
respond to the following questions in writing by Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
(1) What is the total amount of refunds, including interest, that your company expects to
receive?
(2) What specific steps has your company taken, or does it plan to take, to refund IEEPA
tariff payments to the small businesses and customers who originally bore those costs?
Please describe in detail the process your company will use, including the mechanism for
distributing refunds (e.g., direct payment, account credit, price reduction), the timeline
for doing so, and the estimated share of refunds that will be returned to consumers.
(3) If your company has not yet committed to issuing refunds to customers, what factors are
you weighing in making that decision, and by what date do you expect to announce your
policy?
(4) How will your company notify customers who may be eligible for tariff-related refunds
about the availability of those refunds and the process for claiming them?
(5) If any portion of the tariff refunds your company receives will not be returned to
customers and small businesses, please explain why and describe how those funds will
instead be used.
The American people have waited long enough for relief from the economic harm caused
by these unlawful tariffs. With the government’s refund machinery now in motion, I urge your
company to act with urgency and transparency to ensure that the customers who bore these costs
are made whole. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Edward J. Markey
Ranking Member, Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
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