Major U.S. specialty coffee importers have begun issuing credits and refunds to roaster customers after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) started returning duties collected under now-invalidated IEEPA tariffs, with some of that money even reaching retail drinkers for a limited time.
The move follows a February 2026 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled 6–3 that reciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unconstitutional and beyond presidential authority, according to Sprudge Coffee. Those unwound tariffs are collectively believed to be worth over US$100 billion across all industries, Sprudge reported, while Royal Coffee has cited CBP figures of roughly US$166 billion in duties collected under IEEPA.
Royal Coffee, based in Emeryville, California, opened the door for green coffee refunds when a new CBP filing window for IEEPA claims went live on June 29, 2026, via the agency’s CAPE portal, according to Royal’s June 30 customer update. In that update, Royal stated it is pursuing recovery on a total of 1,044 coffee lots and that CBP had already begun returning duties on 927 of those lots, with a further 11 lots in process, 77 lots still to be filed, and 29 lots imported by other parties.
Royal said green coffee classified under tariff codes HTS 0901.11.00 and 0901.12.00 was subject to IEEPA tariffs between April 5 and November 12, 2025, and outlined a phased refund structure based on CBP guidance. CBP’s Phase 1 process covers unliquidated import entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation, with claims expected to be reviewed within 45 days and refunds potentially issued 60 to 90 days after acceptance, according to Royal’s April 22, 2026 briefing.
Royal is passing recovered funds back to its roaster customers as IEEPA Tariff Credits. “There was no legal requirement to issue these credits. After 48 years in business, the decision wasn’t a difficult one,” Royal CEO and trader Max Nicholas-Fulmer said in a statement quoted by Sprudge Coffee and Royal’s own announcements.
At the consumer level, Royal’s Oakland tasting room and lab, The Crown, is temporarily reducing coffee drink prices by US$0.25 for 60 days, a move the company links to about US$2,500 in IEEPA duties tied to that business unit, according to Royal’s June 30 explanation of the pricing change. Royal stated that it has “long maintained that tariffs were not just a tax on U.S. businesses, but on the American people,” and The Crown’s Director of Education Chris Kornman said the price cut is intended to spark conversations about transparency and responsibility in the coffee supply chain.
Seattle-based importer Atlas Coffee Importers announced that, effective July 1, 2026, it would no longer include IEEPA tariff charges on new invoices or spot offerings, and that it is working through reconciliations of past shipments. “Thank you for weathering these storms with flexibility, kindness, and tenacity, and for trusting us as your green coffee supply partner,” Managing Director Susan Heller Evenson wrote in Atlas’s July 1 “Tariff Refund Update”, adding that Atlas expected to begin communicating specific refund amounts and payment or credit details to customers in the coming weeks, barring unforeseen delays.
Minneapolis-based importer Cafe Imports likewise reported that most newly imported coffee is now exempt from U.S. tariffs. The company stated that an executive order issued on November 20, 2025 eliminated the additional 40% IEEPA tariff on Brazilian green coffee, retroactive to November 13, 2025, and that as of February 23, 2026, new 10% (subsequently 15%) tariffs introduced under separate Section 122 authority specifically exempt green coffee. Cafe Imports confirmed it had filed refund requests via the CBP portal as of April 20, 2026, but said there was still no indication of refund levels or timelines.
These refund efforts come against the backdrop of a volatile 2025 coffee market in which U.S. consumers saw higher prices but have not clearly experienced equivalent relief. By fall 2025, commodity coffee prices were 40% higher than a year earlier and a quarter of leading coffee subscription services had raised prices by US$1–2 per bag, according to a March 22, 2026 overview by TrueMediaX, which also noted that New Orleans roaster French Truck Coffee added a 4% “tariff” surcharge. TrueMediaX reported that coffee prices had not clearly come back down after tariff rollbacks, citing accounts that many roasters absorbed higher costs for a time before increasing retail prices.
Sprudge Coffee reported that specialty importers have been widely praised within the trade for voluntarily returning tariff-derived funds to roasters, even though industry commentators warned that almost none of this money is likely to reach everyday consumers directly. As Royal, Atlas, and Cafe Imports continue to work through CBP’s refund mechanisms and update their customers, the practical reach of IEEPA tariff relief through the specialty coffee supply chain is becoming more visible in invoices, credits, and, in a few cases, cafe menu boards.
