FEB 24 – The global transportation and postal company FedEx has filed a lawsuit for a “full refund” for US President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs.
Trump introduced higher tariffs on most countries last April under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), but in a ruling last week the US Supreme Court said that law did not allow the president to impose the taxes on imports.
The decision has paved the way for companies to seek a refund on the additional import duties paid since they were introduced last year.
“Plaintiffs seek for themselves a full refund from Defendants of all IEEPA duties Plaintiffs have paid to the United States,” FedEx said in its lawsuit.
FedEx did not say in its suit what value of a refund it was seeking. It named US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency’s commissioner Rodney Scott, and the US as defendants.
The company said in its filing with the US Court of International Trade it had been responsible for paying the tariffs, and was seeking redress for that.
In a statement on Monday evening, FedEx said it “has taken necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record to seek duty refunds” from CBP following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The BBC has approached the CBP for comment.
On Monday, 22 US Senators, all Democrats, introduced legislation that requires the Trump administration to fully refund all revenue, with interest, collected from tariffs within 180 days.
The legislation requires CBP, who would oversee the reimbursements, to prioritise small businesses.
It’s estimated the Trump administration has brought in at least an additional $130bn (£97bn) from tariffs imposed on most goods exported to the US through the IEEPA.
While the court’s ruling determined that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs were not legal, it did not offer guidance on returning the money to those who had paid the taxes.
Speaking after the decision was released, both Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the issue of refunds could drag through the courts for years.
In recent weeks, prior to the decision release on Friday, hundreds of firms, including cosmetics company Revlon, aluminium giant Alcoa and food importers like tuna fish brand Bumble Bee, filed lawsuits contesting the tariffs, in a bid to get in line for a refund.
Costco was also among the companies that pre-emptively sued the Trump administration last year: “The text of IEEPA does not use the word ‘tariff’ or any term of equivalent meaning,” they wrote in their lawsuit.
On Friday, Trump signed a proclamation using an alternative law, Section 122 of 1974’s Trade Act, that places a new 10% temporary tariff on goods from all countries. On Saturday he said that he would be increasing these new tariffs to 15%.
By BBC
