Gov. Kathy Hochul is demanding the federal government refund an estimated $13.5 billion to New Yorkers following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down former President Donald Trump’s tariff policies as unlawful.
Hochul sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling on the department to “immediately formulate and implement a plan to refund all tariff proceeds” to New York households.
The demand follows a recent Supreme Court decision that found the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were illegal. Hochul argues that New Yorkers paid billions under what she described as an unlawful scheme.
“New Yorkers have paid more than they should have under an illegal scheme that the Supreme Court has now struck down,” Hochul said during a visit to VOS Selections, a New York-based wine importer whose owner was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that led to the decision. “So I am demanding … the full refund for New Yorkers, for individual families, to the tune of $13.5 billion.”
Citing estimates from the Budget Lab at Yale, Hochul said the average New York household paid an estimated $1,751 more due to tariffs since they were enacted last year.
“Millions of New Yorkers are owed a refund,” Hochul wrote in her letter to Bessent. “Having unlawfully seized billions of dollars from American people and businesses, the federal government should now do the right thing: give it back.”
Hochul said the $13.5 billion figure reflects the total estimated statewide impact on households. She noted that businesses may separately pursue their own refunds for tariff payments.
The governor visited VOS Selections owner Victor Schwartz, who challenged the tariff policy in court. Hochul praised him for pursuing the case to the Supreme Court and highlighted the broader impact on New York industries, including wine, agriculture and tourism.
She said Canadian purchases of American wines dropped sharply amid trade tensions, from about $34 million nationally in recent years to roughly $1 million, hurting producers in regions such as the Finger Lakes, Long Island and western New York.
Farmers have also faced higher costs for equipment and fertilizer, Hochul said, adding that tariffs increased expenses across sectors, from groceries to holiday gifts.
“The State of New York’s residents are owed money. $13.5 billion is what we’re seeking,” Hochul said. “Small businesses already pay a lot in federal and state taxes. And now to have this extra tariff thrown on them and their customers is just a kick in the teeth and they don’t deserve that.”
Hochul said she expects the Treasury Department to follow through on representations made by federal lawyers in court that refunds would be issued if the tariffs were struck down.
The governor’s office said it will continue pressing the federal government to return the funds to New York families.
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