Tariff Reimbursements

1949 Willys Pickup

Let’s say a customer buys a package of socks at Walmart.  Walmart knows how much they paid to the company in Malaysia that made those socks.  They know what that package cost in shipping and what they paid in tariffs on that package.  They also know how much they increased the price to pass on some of the cost of the tariffs to the customer.  So, Walmart auditors know how much of the tariff cost was paid by Walmart and how much was paid by the customer.  Walmart also has the customer’s credit card information on this purchase.  What’s to prevent Walmart from refunding the customer’s share of the illegal tariff directly onto the customer’s credit card?  If Walmart gets a refund from the Treasury Dept. for the illegal tariff charged, both Walmart and the customer could be made whole.  Home Depot and Amazon also have extremely detailed digital records.  This wouldn’t apply to a customer buying a pineapple in cash from a local fruit stand.