Yes. There are refundable and non-refundable tax credits. The FTC is non-refundable. See https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nonrefundabletaxcredit.asp and https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/taxes/articles/what-is-a-refundable-tax-credit
That is why when trying to understand this stuff one should always look at the 1040 tax liability lines and not the TT refund box. (E.g. 1040 line 16 and line 13 and 18, delving into Schedules and forms as need to figure out what is happening.)
I think the FTC is non-refundable because the amount of it is limited to
the US tax times [foreign income / worldwide income]
That formula can never result in a credit larger than US tax. (i.e. if all income were foreign the limit would be 100% of US tax).
I.R.C. 904(a) reads:
(a) Limitation
The total amount of the credit taken under section 901(a) shall not exceed the same proportion of the tax against which such credit is taken which the taxpayer’s taxable income from sources without the United States (but not in excess of the taxpayer’s entire taxable income) bears to his entire taxable income for the same taxable year.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/904
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