The past eighteen months have been a wild ride for anyone with even a passing interest in U.S. trade policy. The Trump Administration’s aggressive reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs sent shockwaves through global supply chains, squeezed margins, and contributed to a wave of corporate bankruptcies. Then, in February 2026, the Supreme Court invalidated all tariffs imposed under IEEPA in a landmark 6-3 decision. The result? Over $166 billion in potential IEEPA tariff refunds.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) disclosed that as of May 22, 2026, they have already accepted for processing $85 billion in tariff refunds and that of this total, about $20.6 billion in duties plus interest have been sent to the Treasury Department for payment. If a customer paid significant sums in now-unlawful tariffs, their tariff refund claims could be a significant additional asset that could affect credit decisions by their sellers. And if that customer finds itself in bankruptcy, the tariff refund claim becomes an asset of the estate that can be monetized. This played out in the Chapter 11 cases of American Signature, Inc., where the Debtors sold their IEEPA tariff refund claims for approximately $7.25 million in an unopposed private sale approved by the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. The transaction offers a fascinating case study in how the bankruptcy process can extract value from the tariff chaos—and a preview of what may become a growing trend.
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