Large amounts of refunds from the U.S. Customs are being accumulated in the accounts of A-share companies.
From August 11th to 12th, Chunfeng Power, Yindu Co., Ltd., Zhongwang Textiles, and Gongdong Medical announced that their overseas wholly-owned subsidiaries had received refunds of tariffs and interest from the United States. Including Guizhou Tire, which announced a refund on August 6th, the five companies have received amounts equivalent to about 438 million yuan.
Among them, Chunfeng Power received $38.6099 million, which is approximately 262 million RMB, making it the largest amount received so far. After considering the income tax on the American subsidiary’s income, it is expected that the net profit for 2026 will increase by about 183 million RMB, which is equivalent to 10.95% of its most recent audited net profit.
Guizhou Tire received approximately 81.36 million yuan, Yindu Co., Ltd. received about 78.76 million yuan, and Zhongwang Art and Gongdong Medical respectively received approximately 9.68 million yuan and 6.39 million yuan. For the last three companies, this refund amounts to 12% to 16% of their latest net profit. In other words, a policy correction from the United States has the potential to increase some companies' annual profits by more than 10%.
However, this is not an abrupt decision by the United States to provide subsidies to Chinese export companies. Instead, it is a return of tariffs that were determined by courts to be unfounded.
In 2025, the Trump administration invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose massive tariffs on trade partners such as China, arguing that the influx of fentanyl and trade deficits constituted a “national emergency.”
On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA did not authorize the president to impose tariffs. The court denied the tariff policy itself, but rather the president’s practice of using emergency powers to impose large-scale taxes without Congress's approval. Subsequently, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiated a refund procedure, returning the relevant tariffs paid to importers and paying interest.
As of early August, the United States has returned approximately 100 billion US dollars, which accounts for about 60% of the total tariffs. The scale of this refund has evolved from an unexpected gain for businesses to a significant “loss” for the U.S. finances.
It is noteworthy that the legal payees are mainly American importers. The A-share companies that disclosed refunds mostly handle imports and sales through their American subsidiaries. Customs duties were originally paid to the US customs by these subsidiaries, and now the refunds also go into the accounts of these subsidiaries, eventually being included in the financial statements of the listed companies.
This also reveals a aspect often overlooked in the narrative of tariffs: when the United States imposes taxes on Chinese goods, it does not simply deduct the money from the Chinese government’s accounts. Instead, the US importers pay the taxes, and then the costs are shared among the importers, export enterprises, downstream distributors, and consumers. Those who have local sales channels in the US can be both the taxpayers at the time and the beneficiaries of the refunds today.
However, for investors, this "profit bonus" cannot be equated with the growth of the main business. Most of the related refunds are intended to be recognized as income in the current period ending 2026. This can significantly improve performance and cash flow in the second half of the year. However, it is a one-time income, which does not represent an increase in orders or a sudden improvement in the company's competitiveness. The final impact still requires confirmation through an audit.
More importantly, Trump’s tariff toolkit was not emptied by the courts. The Supreme Court’s ruling only denied tariffs imposed under the IEEPA; tariffs imposed under the “301 Act” and “232 Act” remain valid against China. The Trump administration has also adopted other legal grounds to impose alternative tariffs and has accelerated new trade investigations.
Therefore, this 438 million yuan is more like a delayed compensation left by the tariff storm: the old tariffs are being returned with interest, while the new tariffs may appear under a different legal guise. For Chinese companies, the refund can improve their profits for one year, but it cannot eliminate the risk of long-term fluctuations in U.S. trade policies.
