Royal Oak — Andy Linn says President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs cost his Detroit gift shop $10,000 last year.
So a pair of legal decisions would seem like good news for the small retail owner: First, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs Feb. 20, followed by the U.S. Court of International Trade ordering the federal government to start issuing refunds.
But Linn is doubtful he’ll ever see a dime: “We have paid the tariffs, it’s just that someone else filed the paperwork,” he said. “And it’s going to mean that small businesses are going to face another financial penalty here.”
The reason? Many small businesses might not qualify because they were not listed as the importer of record for goods and materials purchased from other countries, a technical requirement that determines who is legally entitled to claim refunds. The importer of record is the only entity that can claim and receive a refund — a designation often held by freight forwarders, brokers or out‑of‑state suppliers.
“We’ve worked with other companies to … guide the goods into the country for us, and that was helpful for the small number of goods we imported, but it turned out to bite us because we don’t have standing to request the refund,” Linn said.
“I have a hunch that many small businesses will be in the same boat. If you are a large company, you probably have a department that handles the imports, and they would’ve filed all their own paperwork with Customs,” he said. “In our case, we are a small company and all of our goods are local, so we don’t do this a lot.”
To make matters worse, the Detroit retailer said he did not pass tariff costs over the last year onto customers, expecting the levies would be paid back. To him, the prospect of not getting a refund is “a double whammy.”
Michigan officials have been urging businesses to apply for refunds from the federal government. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced that the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has begun outreach to help companies recover funds, saying: “It’s time for Michiganders to get their money back.”
Big bucks on the way — for some
Some Michigan companies expect to receive substantial payments from the federal government. Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. projects it will receive $1.3 billion, while Detroit-based General Motors Co. says it expects to get $500 million.
The Liberty Justice Center, which led the legal fight against the tariffs, reported that 330,000 importers paid the now‑invalidated tariffs, covering 53 million entries and totaling roughly $166 billion in collections. The public-interest law firm has launched Project TERRA to guide small businesses through the recovery process. Legal advocates from the organization note that many small businesses financed the tariffs while intermediate suppliers simply passed the extra costs down the supply chain.
Data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce indicates that more than 200,000 small business importers nationwide are due refunds.
In April, a refund system, created by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in response to the court order that it prepare to return up to $166 billion to importers, went live. A CBP spokesperson said they created a system that will “efficiently process refunds, pursuant to court order, for importers and brokers who paid” the duties. Refunds can be claimed by any company that is the legal entity that paid the taxes, so the issue reaches beyond U.S. borders.
But businesses remain concerned they might not see refunds as the tariffs continue to be litigated. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said earlier this month that the Trump administration expects to prevail in the appeal of the Court of International Trade’s ruling against its temporary 10% global tariffs to replace duties struck down by the Supreme Court.
Regardless, most economists believe the pass-through from Trump’s sweeping tariffs is probably over.
Tariff pressure too strong for some
Monica Bisignano Zamler plans to file for a refund for tariffs she paid while operating Primi Piatti Market. She closed the Birmingham market in February after operating for 15 years. She blamed the tariffs, which hit her business especially hard because she ordered all of her inventory from Italy, which was subject to a 15% tariff.
“I’m used to paying extra to get things to the U.S. from Italy. Every single thing that I sold in my store was imported from Italy, so every single item I sold was impacted by tariffs,” Zamler said. Duties and exchange rates were common expenses for her, but the extra 15% reciprocal tariff on European goods proved unmanageable.
“Things were winding up costing me at a minimum 30% more because of the 15% tariff. Let’s say something normally cost $10 and I’d sell it for $20. Now, it cost $10, but I’m paying $13 (more) … so I was only charging $23 … just making up what I was losing, but I wasn’t going to make money on it.
“I had to invest more money to make less money, and I did it for as long as I could, hoping that it would change or supposedly that I was going to get these tariffs back someday,” she said. “Nobody that I know has gotten any tariffs back yet.”
Uncertainty, unpredictability and the confusion around whether tariffs will continue changing or if they will expire again is another obstacle circling in the small business climate, Michigan retailers said.
According to a tariff impact survey conducted by the Michigan Retailers Association, nearly 75% of Michigan retailers report seeing a negative or strongly negative impact from tariffs since April 2025.
According to research from the Small Business Majority, 47% of businesses impacted by tariffs have increased the price of certain materials or products, 24% have delayed importing goods or materials, 26% have delayed business expansion plans, 19% have delayed hiring new employees, 15% have changed their business model and/or product offerings and 7% have laid off workers and/or reduced their hours.
Sergio Basmajian, president of Metals In Time in downtown Royal Oak, said tariffs on jewelry from Europe and Asia have the store working on tight margins and showcasing gold items with inflated prices to sticker-shocked customers.
“Almost all gold jewelry, whether it’s chains, bracelets are all coming from there (Europe), so you’re paying a tariff tax there,” he said. “And then on top of that, when you put the tariff for the Swiss watches, almost all luxury watches are from there, so that’s an extra 35% coming in. So all those extra costs come into our bottom line.”
According to Linn, the effects of the tariffs went beyond money: “I have spent a large number of hours dealing with the price impacts of tariffs, navigating the potential refunds and weighing the cost and benefits of continuing with these brands. It is quite the distraction from the more important and more fun job of running the business and being a part of the community.”
What businesses can do now
Entrepreneurs hoping to secure refunds are being advised to:
mjohnson@detroitnews.com
Reuters contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tariff refunds may evade small businesses in Michigan
Reporting by Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
