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Scandinavian Tobacco Group is refunding retailer tariff charges — after the Supreme Court struck the IEEPA tariffs down

STG will credit retailers for import charges paid from May 19, 2025 to Feb 23, 2026 — about DKK 33 million ($5.12M) — after the US Supreme Court ruled the IEEPA tariffs unlawful. The ruling matters for any nicotine product imported into the US.

PouchDaily Desk·
Scandinavian Tobacco GroupSTGtariffsretailDominican RepublicNicaraguaHondurasimport dutiesrefunds

Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) has told US retailers it will refund the import charges it collected on orders from May 19, 2025 through Feb 23, 2026 — after the US Supreme Court ruled in February that the Trump administration's IEEPA tariffs were unlawful.

One correction to earlier framing: the refund covers STG's cigar imports, not nicotine pouches. STG is the only company operating handmade cigar factories in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras, and those goods carried the charges. STG discontinued distributing third-party nicotine pouches in the US in 2024.

What retailers are getting back

  • Refunds cover import charges paid on orders placed May 19, 2025 – Feb 23, 2026.
  • Credits are expected to arrive around Oct 23.
  • In August, STG valued its tariff refunds at DKK 33 million ($5.12 million).
  • STG first applied a 5% import charge from May 19, 2025, later raised to 7% as replacement tariffs appeared.

Current tariffs are not IEEPA-based: the administration is now applying tariffs justified by forced-labor and human-trafficking concerns — 12.5% on goods from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, 10% from Honduras. STG is still charging retailers a 7% import charge against those rates.

Why it matters for pouches

The February Supreme Court ruling created the refund mechanism now flowing through the nicotine industry: Altadis U.S.A. announced a similar retailer credit last month. Any nicotine product imported into the US — pouches manufactured abroad among them — sits under the same shifting tariff picture. Pouch brands with overseas production face the same uncertainty that led STG to charge retailers 5–7% for over a year and then hand it back.

What happens next

STG says the charge stays in place as long as the replacement tariffs do. Retailers should watch for the credit around Oct 23 and check it against the import charges on their invoices from the covered period.

SOURCES: Halfwheel — STG Announces Tariff Refund for Retailers Tobacco Reporter — Scandinavian Announces Retailer Tariff Refunds