Businesses are getting tariff refunds. Why aren't consumers getting their cut?

A slew of American companies are getting billions of dollars back in tariff refunds after a Supreme Court ruling. Many consumers, though, may never get anything back.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x2826+0+0/resize/4032x2826!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F41%2F5f%2F2a7d8dcd4d59b4aea5bdd99e8159%2Fap18099691861150.jpg' alt='Although the government is refunding many tariffs, most of the money is going to businesses and importers — not consumers.'/><p>A slew of American companies are getting billions of dollars back in tariff refunds after a Supreme Court ruling. Many consumers, though, may never get anything back.</p><p>(Image credit: Elise Amendola)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5946782' />