Planet Money
Companies are getting billions of dollars back. How about us?
It seems simple, right? We paid higher prices for imported goods because of tariffs. Then the tariffs were ruled illegal. Courts said the money paid to the U.S. government had to be refunded. Companies are getting that money now.
It would seem like we, the customers, should get paid back, too. But … it’s not so simple.
Once again, we’re dipping back into the drama of import tax law. We’re engrossed in the ups, downs, betrayal, and romance of … the Days of our Tariffs.
In this edition: “Refunds and Regrets.”
How and why some companies and people are getting their IEEPA tariff refunds and other people are out of luck.
Live Show:
– Planet Money Live at Kilkenomics. Kilkenny, Ireland Nov. 6th – 7th
Read Planet Money:
– Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life
– Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter
– Our weekly Indicator round-up newsletter
Follow Planet Money:
– Instagram
– TikTok
– YouTube
– Facebook
Listen to more Planet Money:
– Our short, daily podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money
– Over 1,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App
Merch:
– NPR Shop
– The Planet Money game, Sell Me A Sasquatch
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and James Sneed. It was edited by our executive producer Alex Goldmark. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Cena Loffredo. Special thanks this week to everyone who wrote in with a tale of tariff drama.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

-
The Rest of the Story, 2023
It’s that time of year again! Our annual year-end tradition of checking in on the stories we’ve reported and the people we met along the way. We’ll hear from a Hollywood strike captain who tried…
-
The Indicators of this year and next
Today on the show, hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator debate the economic indicators of this year and next year. First up, we try to identify the figure that best captured the essence of…
-
We buy a lot of Christmas trees (Update)
*Note: This episode originally ran in 2020* ‘Tis the season for Americans to head out in droves and bring home a freshly-cut Christmas tree. But decorative evergreens don’t just magically show up on corner lots,…
-
Dollarizing Argentina
Argentina has been on a decades-long search for economic stability, but it always seems to be out of reach. High inflation has been plaguing the country and just surpassed 160% a year. Over the past…
-
How to be better at hybrid work, according to research
The research keeps coming in on remote work. New evidence suggests working from home, at least full-time, may not be as productive as we once thought. Economist Jose Maria Barrero and his co-authors have reviewed…
-
What econ says in the shadows
Economics Job Market Rumors is a website that’s half a job information Wiki, where people post about what’s going on inside economics departments, and half a discussion forum, where anyone with an internet connection can…
-
Why ’90s ads are unforgettable
Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s __________. The best part of waking up, is _______ in your cup! Got ____? If you can identify these brands based on tagline alone, it’s possible you… are…
-
The U.S. economy’s biggest superpower, explained
What if you could borrow money on the cheap and use it to pay for just about anything? The U.S. government can, and does, with U.S. Treasuries. But the market for Treasuries might be more…
-
Why do doctors still use pagers?
Remember pagers? They were huge in the 80s — these little devices that could receive short messages. Sir Mix-A-Lot even had a song about them! But then cell phones came along, and pagers more or…
-
Two food and drink indicators
Today on the show, we have two episodes from our daily podcast, The Indicator, about things we spend a lot of time thinking about this time of year: food and drink. First up, we explore…
