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Companies Push for Billions in Refunds After Tariff Reversal
FedEx Among Those Suing; Pending Lawsuits and Prior DOJ Assurances Put Pressure on Government to Honor Repayments
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Businesses suing to challenge President Donald Trump’s global tariffs have asked lower courts to reopen the legal proceedings so that they can begin the process of seeking refunds from the government after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the levies.
On Feb. 24, lawyers for challengers that successfully litigated before the high courtaskedthe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to formalize its ruling last year declaring Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs unlawful, which a majority of the Supreme Court upheld on Feb. 20.
RELATED: Bessent Warns Tariff Refunds Would Favor Corporations
Once that happens, the fight will return to the U.S. Court of International Trade to determine next steps, including whether the importers must get their money back. Also on Feb. 24, attorneys for the group of small businessesfiled a requestin the trade court asking a three-judge panel to enter a fresh injunction blocking the administration from enforcing the tariff policy and initiating the refund process.
have been filed to date, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. The bulk of the tariff refund lawsuits were filed by importers after the Supreme Court heard arguments in November, and the trade court put them all on hold until the justices ruled. The Justice Department hasn’t said how it intends to proceed yet.
New cases have continued to land on the trade court’s docket in the days since the Supreme Court ruled. On Feb. 23, the latest plaintiffs toincluded FedEx Corp. Like the bulk of tariff lawsuits filed to date, FedEx’s complaint didn’t specify how much the company had paid in levies.
FedEx ranks No. 2on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of thelargest for-hire carriers in North America, No. 3 on the TT Top 50 list of thelargest global freight carriersԻNo. 43on the TT Top 100 list of thelargest logistics companies in North America.
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On Feb. 25, lawyers for other companies that filed refund lawsuits while waiting for the Supreme Court to ruleasked the trade courtto hold a hearing to determine next steps this week or as soon as possible. They argued for immediate action “to avoid further harm to plaintiffs and litigation complexity which accrues with each passing day.” According to the filing, the government opposed scheduling a hearing right away.
The businesses involved in the Supreme Court case aren’t asking the trade court for a nationwide order, saying that’s unnecessary because the government can’t impose the tariffs on anyone without violating the court’s decision. But they suggested that the trade court could consider merging all of the tariff lawsuits “to ensure the fair and prompt resolution.”
In written filings last year, Justice Department lawyers that the original small businesses that sued would get refunds with interest if they won.
“We’re trying to hold the government to their word,” Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation at Liberty Justice Center, which has represented the businesses, said in an interview.
Immediately after the Supreme Court announced its decision in the tariff case, Trump made comments suggesting the government might oppose paying refunds.
“I guess it has to get litigated,” the president said at the time. He also speculated that the issue might take years to resolve.
Importers have paid approximately $170 billion on tariffs so far. Schwab said the president’s statements made “things a little murkier,” so they are hoping for clarity from the trade court as soon as possible.
“Hopefully the Justice Department attorneys will work with us and it will be an easy process,” he said.
Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The small businesses that brought one of the cases that went before the justices didn’t specify how much money they’re seeking to recoup. Their lawyers told the trade court on Feb. 24 that any refund process adopted in the case could serve as a “template for providing swift relief” for the rest of the companies pursuing claims.
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Trade lawyers told Bloomberg News that they expect the administration will face adifficult legal landscapecontesting refunds. The Justice Department not only had said that the original plaintiffs would get repaid, but also that the government would concede key issues related to refunds in other cases. The administration had made those statements in urging judges to allow officials to continue collecting the levies while the court fight played out.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts that Trump unlawfully imposed the tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Shortly after the Supreme Court announced its decision, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a new round of global tariffs under a different authority, the Trade Act of 1974.
Legal experts have predicted that the administration is likely to face challenges to those levies as well.
