Small business owner is already giving her customers a tariff refund
#Tariff refunds #Trump tariffs #Supreme Court ruling #Dame Products #IEEPA #Small business #Consumer refunds #Trade policy
📌 Key Takeaways
- Small business CEO Alexandra Fine is automatically refunding customers who paid a tariff surcharge
- Supreme Court ruled Trump's emergency tariffs were illegal
- Dame Products paid approximately $70,000 in IEEPA tariffs in 2025
- Major corporations are suing the government for tariff refunds, with potential total refunds reaching $165 billion
📖 Full Retelling
Alexandra Fine, CEO of Dame Products, a sexual health and wellness company based in the United States, announced on February 27, 2026, that she is automatically refunding customers who paid a $5 'Trump tariff surcharge' after the Supreme Court ruled last week that President Trump's emergency tariffs imposed in 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were illegal. Fine explained that her company has already processed some refunds and expects to deliver rebates on thousands of additional product orders within weeks. Dame paid approximately $70,000 in IEEPA tariffs in 2025, and Fine has all the information needed to identify customers who paid the surcharge. 'We can see every customer that had this surcharge tacked on, so we are just clicking a button and sending them their money back,' she told CBS News. Fine hopes that the federal government and other businesses will follow suit in providing tariff refunds to consumers. The move by Dame comes as major corporations like FedEx, Bausch & Lomb, Dyson, and L'Oreal are suing the federal government for tariff refunds. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, businesses could be owed up to $165 billion in refunds of IEEPA tariffs paid in 2025 and early 2026. Meanwhile, consumers and businesses last year paid nearly 90% of U.S. tariffs in the form of higher costs, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York study, though the Trump administration disputes these findings. Law firm Morgan & Morgan has also filed class-action lawsuits against FedEx and Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica on behalf of consumers seeking tariff refunds.
🏷️ Themes
Trade Policy, Consumer Rights, Small Business
📚 Related People & Topics
Dame Products
American sex toy company
Dame Products is a US-founded sexual wellness company that designs and manufactures sex toys and accessories by women, with a focus on, but not limited to, products for women's pleasure and health. The company was founded in 2014 by sexologist Alexandra Fine and engineer Janet Lieberman in New York ...
International Emergency Economic Powers Act
United States federal law
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Title II of Pub. L. 95–223, 91 Stat. 1626, enacted December 28, 1977, is a United States federal law authorizing the president to regulate international commerce after declaring a national emergency in response to any unusual and extraordinary...
Tariffs in the Trump administration
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Tariffs in the Trump administration could refer to:
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Original Source
MoneyWatch This small business owner is already giving her customers a tariff refund By Megan Cerullo Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Megan Cerullo Updated on: February 27, 2026 / 4:27 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google As some of the biggest U.S. companies sue the Trump administration to obtain tariff refunds, one small company is already giving money back to consumers. Alexandra Fine, CEO of Dame Products, a sexual health and wellness company, said she is giving consumers automatic refunds for costs they incurred from import tariffs President Trump imposed last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act . The Supreme Court ruled last week that the emergency tariffs were illegal. "We are giving that money back to the people because if somebody charges you something and it's unlawful, they should give you your money back," she told CBS News. Dame, which last year implemented a $5 "Trump tariff surcharge" on customer purchases, in 2025 paid a total of $70,000 in tariffs stemming from IEEPA. Fine also said she hopes the federal government, as well as other businesses, will follow suit and provide customers with tariff refunds. "Just clicking a button" "We have all the information. We can see every customer that had this surcharge tacked on, so we are just clicking a button and sending them their money back," Fine, who co-founded Dame in 2014, told CBS News. Consumers and businesses last year paid nearly 90% of U.S. tariffs in the form of higher costs, according to a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, although other analyses have found somewhat lower "pass-through" rates to shoppers. The Trump administration, which claims that foreign governments and exporters absorb most tariff costs, vehemen...
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