Fedex Files First US Major Corporate Lawsuit To Recover Tariffs

FedEx has sued the US government in the US Court of International Trade, seeking a “full refund” of tariffs it paid after the Supreme Court ruled the levies illegal. The lawsuit attempts to recover part of the estimated $175bn collected under the tariffs.

The case is the first major U.S company lawsuit seeking tariff reimbursements since the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling on February 20, which found that Congress retains the sole constitutional authority to levy taxes and that the president did not have authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the duties.

The complaint, filed against the United States and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), alleges that FedEx incurred additional costs to expedite shipments through customs and is entitled to a refund of duties with interest, as well as compensation for the financial harm it suffered.

“Plaintiffs seek for themselves a full refund from Defendants of all IEEPA duties Plaintiffs have paid to the United States,” FedEx said in the lawsuit. The filing does not disclose how much the company has paid in tariffs.

FedEx joins several large corporations that challenged the tariffs before the Supreme Court’s ruling, including wholesaler Costco, beauty company Revlon and grocery company Bumble Bee Foods.

Despite the ruling, Trump indicated he would continue pursuing tariffs under different legal statutes. He announced a new 10% global tariff, later raising it to 15% within 24 hours.

The ruling applies only to tariffs imposed under IEEPA, including Mr Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries and drug trafficking-related duties on Canada, Mexico and China. It does not affect tariffs introduced under other statutes, such as those on imported steel, aluminium and certain vehicles.