Tariff Refund Portal Stumbles on Launch Day as Businesses Report Errors

The U.S. government's new tariff refund portal got off to a rocky start Monday, with businesses reporting error messages, system outages, and hours-long hold times as they tried to reclaim money owed after the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's emergency tariffs earlier this year.

The Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries platform, known as CAPE, is operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and was designed to process refunds for tens of thousands of importers owed a collective $175 billion. But many who tried to use the system on its first day were met with frustration. Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources — the educational toy company whose 2025 lawsuit led to the Supreme Court decision — told CBS News he received a message saying the system was "experiencing high volume." He described the portal as having "gone blinky."

Other businesses faced even more basic hurdles. Beth Benike, co-founder of Minnesota-based baby products company Busy Baby, said she spent more than four hours on hold with CBP over the weekend trying to resolve an account error that prevented her from filing a $50,000 refund claim. "I can't even get to the point where I'd receive an error message because the portal is down," she said. CBP said it was looking into reports of problems.

Advocacy groups stressed the urgency of getting the system working. Shawn Phetteplace of Main Street Alliance, a network of small business owners, said some members went out of business or halted hiring during the tariff chaos. "We need those refunds to be processed as soon as humanly possible," he said. For business owners like Al Fine, founder of sexual health company Dame, the refunds represent a lifeline. "If this money comes in, it would be such a relief," Fine said.