FedEx sues for refund after Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs, and the price tag could be massive

FedEx has filed a lawsuit seeking refunds for U.S. tariffs that the Supreme Court recently ruled unlawful, marking what could be the first in a wave of similar claims. The development was first detailed by The New York Times.

The company has not disclosed the specific amount it is seeking, but the potential sums are significant. Analysts estimate the emergency tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump about a year ago, and later struck down by the Supreme Court, may have generated as much as $175 billion in revenue for the federal government.

FedEx often acts as the “importer of record,” meaning it pays customs duties directly to the government before passing those costs on to customers. In a statement, the company said it has “taken necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record to seek duty refunds.”

A potential wave of corporate refund claims

The Times reported that dozens of companies had already challenged the emergency tariffs in court before the Supreme Court’s decision. FedEx’s lawsuit could signal the beginning of broader efforts by corporations to recover payments made under the now-invalidated trade policy.

Last year, lawyers for the Trump administration told the trade court that the government would comply with an order to issue refunds if the tariffs were ruled unlawful. However, Trump suggested recently that any refunds could face further legal disputes, a point that has also surfaced in the CNN coverage dispute.

Scott Lincicome, an economist at the Cato Institute cited in the report, said it was expected that companies would seek refunds given the financial stakes involved. He noted that for major firms, the sums at issue could amount to millions of dollars.

The report also noted that customers may expect companies like FedEx to pass along any recovered duties. Large corporate clients often have procedures in place for handling such reimbursements, and shipping operations have also been affected by Rhode Island blizzard totals as supply chains track disruptions.