Today, after the Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s tariffs, U.S. Congressman Greg Stanton (AZ-04) joined his colleagues to introduce the Restoring Economic Lifelines for Independent Enterprises and Family Businesses (RELIEF) Act to provide automatic tariff refunds to small and independent businesses.
"Small businesses operate on razor-thin margins, and Trump's illegal tariffs hit them hardest. Over the past year, I've heard directly from small retailers, coffee shop owners, restaurateurs, and manufacturers about the impossible choices they've faced — cutting staff, raising prices, and watching their livelihoods hang in the balance,” Stanton said. “The RELIEF Act will deliver the automatic refunds these business owners have earned so they can get back to doing what they do best: creating jobs and strengthening our communities.”
While the Court addressed the legality of the tariffs, current law provides no automatic refund mechanism for businesses. Without congressional action, businesses that paid tariffs under IEEPA could face prolonged litigation or administrative uncertainty in attempting to recover funds.
Large corporations may be able to recover tariff payments through years of litigation, but small and independent businesses lack the resources to do so, creating an uneven playing field. To address that gap this legislation would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to automatically refund tariffs and customs duties collected under IEEPA since January 1, 2025.
The RELIEF Act would:
• Require refunds within 90 days of enactment
• Apply to covered tariffs collected since January 1, 2025
• Eliminate the need for individual applications or formal protests
The full bill text is HERE.
Stanton led the resolutions in the House to terminate Trump’s unlawful use of “emergency” authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which he has used to justify tariffs based on a fabricated national emergency and which the Supreme Court ruled against today.
He has backed the Prevent Tariff Abuse Act, which would stop the president from imposing tariffs under the guise of a national emergency without congressional approval. He also backed the Congressional Trade Authority Act, legislation that would require the president to submit to Congress any proposal to adjust tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.