Horse owners may seek tariff refunds after Supreme Court ruling

Horse owners who paid tariffs on horses imported into the United States in 2025 may now have a path to get that money back, a change that could matter fast for stables, breeders and sport-horse buyers who absorbed the added costs at the border. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Feb. 20, 2026, that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, and Customs and Border Protection has since opened the first phase of its refund process through the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries tool inside the Automated Commercial Environment.

The size of the refund pool is not small. Tariff collections on all horses climbed from $0 in 2024 to $28.5 million in 2025, a jump that shows how quickly the policy hit the equine business. For an operation that imported even one horse under tariff, the refund could recapture a meaningful chunk of cash. For a larger outfit bringing in multiple horses, the total could be substantial, especially if duties were paid on several entries tied to the same shipment cycle.

Horseflight, which serves sport horses and some Thoroughbred clients, said it is already working with Reliance Customs Brokerage to pursue refunds for clients whose horses were flown in under those tariffs. Natasha Klingenstein said the company has already submitted entries through the refund system. That gives owners a practical next step: contact the customs broker that handled the import and ask whether the horse, or any related shipment, was charged under the tariff program.

The tariff issue may also extend beyond the horse itself. Emily Stearns of the American Horse Council said imported horseshoes, tools, hay, straw, bedding and equipment may have been tariffed as well. She advised owners to check with their customs broker if they think they qualify, though refunds on smaller items may make the most sense for bigger operations with higher import volume and more paperwork at stake.

The unanswered question now is speed. Some horses were tariffed as early as April 2025, and the industry still does not know whether refunds will be processed in the order the tariffs were paid or in waves as CBP works through the new system. The American Horse Council has an intern researcher studying the tariffs’ effect on the equine industry, with findings scheduled for presentation at the AHC Conference and National Issues Forum June 21-24 in Washington. For owners who paid the duty, the money is now in play; the timing of the return is the next test.