After Trump tariffs are struck down, some Ohio businesses want their money back

Former Ohio Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is criticizing his opponent, Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, over Husted’s support for sweeping tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court last month declared to be illegal.

Brown added that now they’ve been declared illegal, the administration should refund $1,336 to every Ohio household.

In a 6-3 decision, the court said that President Donald Trump didn’t have emergency authority to impose tariffs. That’s a power reserved for Congress, the ruling said.

Trump had imposed double-digit taxes on imports from every country in the world save Russia.

Trump said the tariffs are in retaliation against trade partners whom he said treated the United States unfairly. He also said they would create jobs here.

But there’s a consensus among many economists that they raised consumer costs, and acted as a drag on the economy.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling now leaves policymakers with some difficult questions.

Some small business owners say they were especially harmed by the tariffs.

Most didn’t have the heft to renegotiate terms with foreign suppliers while also being reluctant to raise prices on their customers. For many, that meant decreased profitability.

Now huge numbers of these business owners want their money back. 

We Pay the Tariffs is a coalition of more than 800 small businesses that opposed Trump’s import taxes.

In a statement following the court’s decision, Executive Director Dan Anthony said the government should provide relief to small businesses — quickly.

“They’ve taken out loans just to keep their doors open,” he said. “They’ve frozen hiring, canceled expansion plans, and watched their life savings drain away to pay tariff bills that weren’t in any budget or business plan. Today, the Supreme Court has validated what we’ve been saying all along: these tariffs were unlawful from the start.”

Anthony added, “The administration’s only responsible course of action now is to establish a fast, efficient, and automatic refund process that returns tariff money to the businesses that paid it.”

For his part, Trump doubled down, vowing to use other vehicles to impose tariffs. But some experts say their applications are more limited, which is why Trump didn’t use them in the first place. 

One Ohio small business owner said Trump will only cause more chaos if he forges ahead.

Akron-based EarthQuaker Devices makes effects pedals. They’re the things guitarists stomp on to get fuzz or reverb or distortion or other audio effects that sound so cool on a record or during a music show.

“The majority [of tariffs] that we have paid have been via a U.S. based wholesaler who passed along the expense to us,” EarthQuaker CEO Julie Robbins said in a written statement.

“It seems like it will be difficult to calculate, as the rates have changed many times. I do believe the administration will continue to add tariffs through other means, although they are extremely unpopular. The uncertainty is awful, it makes planning so difficult.”

Thousands of companies are now seeking refunds of the import taxes they paid. But some fiscal hawks are saying the loss of that revenue is going to make already-huge budget deficits even worse. 

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said loss of the tariffs could add $2.4 trillion to the federal debt by 2036.

The group had already estimated that tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act would add $4.1 trillion to the debt by 2034.

Husted is a Republican whom Gov. Mike DeWine appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat vacated by JD Vance when he became vice president. In November, Husted will face Brown, a Democrat who lost his Senate seat in 2024.

Husted voted for the Trump spending bill that slashed programs for the poor, cut taxes for the wealthy, and added to the debt. 

Husted’s office frequently fails to respond when asked to comment on election issues. His office also didn’t respond when asked if he would support refunding tariff revenue that the Supreme Court said was illegally collected.

But in a social media post, Husted seemed to say the tariffs were good for consumers and so-called “job creators.”

“Tariffs are an important tool for protecting American workers and confronting unfair trade practices,” Husted said. “Today, the Supreme Court has spoken. In America, we respect the rule of law even when we disagree with it.”

He added, “I look forward to working with the President, his administration, and my colleagues in the Senate to continue supporting America-First trade policies, prioritizing American consumers and job creators, and pushing back on adversaries like China.”

Brown said that by supporting Trump’s tariffs, his opponent was helping the uber-rich.

“I’m calling for a $1,336 refund for every Ohio household,” Brown wrote on X.

“The reckless tariffs ruled illegal by the Supreme Court cost Ohioans $6.5 billion, but (Republican Ohio Senator) Jon Husted supported them at every turn. Ohioans are being crushed by soaring prices and they deserve their money back.”

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.