FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026
CONTACT: press@opportunitywisconsin.org
Your weekly update on how Trump’s tariff chaos is hitting Wisconsin families and small businesses — and what Congress is (not) doing about it.
THE REFUND YOU WON'T BE GETTING
This week, the Trump administration launched an online portal to refund money back from tariffs the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. There's just one catch: it's not for you.
The portal — known as CAPE, or Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries — allows companies that directly paid import taxes to apply for refunds on the $166 billion the government collected before the Supreme Court struck the tariffs down. Only the formal importer of record is eligible. Consumers who paid higher prices on imported products are not eligible to submit claims.
Wisconsin families absorbed thousands of dollars in higher prices over the past year — $1,744 on average — as businesses passed tariff costs straight to the checkout line. All while families have also dealt with Republican-backed cuts to benefits, and now are facing skyrocketing costs from their war with Iran. But businesses, not families, are now at the front of the line for refunds.
And even for businesses, it's not simple. A Federal Reserve survey found 42% of small firms called rising tariff costs a primary financial concern, but smaller businesses, which operate on thin margins, often lack the legal resources to navigate the refund process, jeopardizing their ability to recoup the hundreds of thousands of dollars they lost. Only about 63% of affected import filings are covered in the first phase, and some refunds could take years to process.
And early reports from small businesses trying to navigate the system show technical glitches, long waits, and errors that are preventing them from filing their claims.
Corporations get a portal. Wisconsin families get nothing. And Congressmen Steil and Van Orden, who voted to keep these illegal tariffs in place, have said nothing about helping Wisconsinites recover the thousands they’ve spent.
"WE WILL NEVER GO BACK TO A ZERO-TARIFF WORLD"
If you were hoping the refund portal was a sign of relief to come, the Trump administration has a message for you. This week, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer traveled to Mexico City and reportedly told the auto and steel industries directly: "Tariffs are here to stay. President Trump likes them. We will never go back to a zero-tariff world."
Greer made the comments as part of discussions over the USMCA renegotiation, making clear that even a new trade deal won't mean the end of tariffs for Wisconsin manufacturers, farmers, and families. The current 10% global tariff is already in effect and the administration is signaling it wants more.
Van Orden and Steil have now been silent for 56 days since the new global tariff went into effect. It’s time for them to speak out and support an end to tariffs that are driving up costs for their constituents.
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