General Motors said it expects to receive $500 million in refunds from tariffs that were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in February – but its board recently debated whether the company should even apply for a refund, The Post has learned.
Last week, President Trump said he would “remember” companies that did not apply for a tariff refund, which sources said has given some big corporations pause after the federal government last week opened a portal to allow companies to apply to get tariff money back.
The Supreme Court ruled in February that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not give President Donald Trump the power to unilaterally impose tariffs.
Given the high court’s ruling, one attorney who asked not to be identified said companies that opt out of applying for a refund could risk shareholder lawsuits for walking away from money that they are owed.
Last week, there were media reports that Amazon and Apple had decided not to apply for a tariff refund, but the companies have not publicly disclosed whether they will or won’t apply for a tariff refund, a source told The Post.
Amazon is reporting earnings on Wednesday could address the situation for the first time, the source said.
In GM’s case, the company’s tariff exposure is much larger than the refund it expects to receive this year from Uncle Sam.
The automaker said on Tuesday during an earnings call that its total tariff exposure – including tariffs on imported vehicles, parts and components under Section 232 – is now $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion, or $500 million less than its previous estimate.
Accordingly, GM is now boosting its full-year profit forecast by $500 million, GM CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders as the company announced its first-quarter results. Barra also cited strong sales of its full-size pickup trucks, despite rising gas prices.
GM is an unlikely target of the president’s ire over refunds, one source said, noting how much it has invested in increasing its US manufacturing capabilities.
Over the past year, the Detroit company has invested $5.5 billion to ramp up its US manufacturing, including six factories in Michigan, Kansas, Tennessee, Ohio and New York.
There are more than 330,000 importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs that were invalidated, totaling $166 billion.
The IEEPA tariffs alone cost the typical American household $700 last year, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.
For the first quarter of 2026, GM reported earnings of $2.63 billion and revenue of $43.62 billion.
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