by Natalia Mittelstadt
FedEx filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for a “full refund” of tariff payments made under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, under which President Trump has no authority to impose, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The suit was filed Monday, following the high court’s ruling Friday, according to CBS News.
FedEx filed the complaint in the U.S. Court of International Trade, making it the first major lawsuit seeking tariff reimbursements since last week’s Supreme Court ruling.
The high court did not indicate whether businesses that paid tariffs under IEEPA are entitled to refunds. The ruling from last week is expected to result in numerous lawsuits that will be litigated in the lower courts over the billions of dollars in tariff payments that were made over the last year.
FedEx is requesting the trade court force U.S. Customs and Border Protection to refund all duties paid last year under IEEPA.
“This Court has jurisdiction and authority to order remedial relief and refunds of IEEPA duties paid by importers,” FedEx wrote in its lawsuit
“Plaintiffs have standing to bring this lawsuit because they are the importers of goods imported into the United States from countries subject to the IEEPA duties as implemented and collected by CBP that have been held by the Supreme Court to be unlawful. As a result of the executive orders identified in this lawsuit,” FexEx stated.
It continued, “Plaintiffs have paid IEEPA duties to the United States and thus have suffered injury caused by those orders.”
On its website, FedEx said it has “taken necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record to seek duty refunds from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
“At this time, however, no refund process has been established by regulators or the courts. We will communicate any relevant information and updates in a timely manner, and we appreciate your patience as we wait for additional guidance and clarity from the U.S. government and the courts,” the company noted.
FedEx executives said on a quarterly earnings call last year that they expected a $1 billion hit to profits in 2025 because of the Trump administration’s tariff policies.
The lawsuit requests a refund of “the duties collected from Plaintiffs on all entries subject to IEEPA duties, with interest as provided by law,” plus additional funds to cover legal fees.
FedEx joined several other large corporations that sued before the Supreme Court’s ruling, including Costco, Revlon, and Bumble Bee Foods.
The Supreme Court case came as a result of lawsuits from several small businesses, including wine importer V.O.S. Selections and toymaker Learning Resources.
After last week’s ruling, Trump quickly threatened to impose a new 15% global tariff using a different, 1974 trade law, which allows the president to impose duties for no more than 150 days to address “large and serious” balance-of-payment deficits.
The Supreme Court decision specifically impacted tariffs that were issued under IEEPA, but it did not impact duties that were imposed under other laws, including tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, and certain vehicles.
The White House did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
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Natalia Mittelstadt is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
