FedEx sues US government, seeks refund for illegal Trump tariffs
What's the story
FedEx has sued the US government, seeking a "full refund" for tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The lawsuit was filed in the US Court of International Trade and comes after the Supreme Court ruled last week that those tariffs were illegal. This is the first major corporate attempt to reclaim duties paid under a regime that the high court struck down in a 6-3 decision last week.
Legal proceedings
FedEx names US Customs and Border Protection as defendant
The lawsuit, which runs to 11 pages, was filed by Federal Express Corp. and its subsidiary FedEx Logistics. It names US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), its commissioner Rodney Scott, and the United States government as defendants. "Plaintiffs seek for themselves a full refund from Defendants of all IEEPA duties Plaintiffs have paid to the United States," the complaint reads.
Court decision
Supreme Court ruling on contested tariffs
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump's use of emergency economic powers to impose tariffs was beyond his statutory authority. While the majority opinion invalidated the duties, it did not decide whether importers who paid over $170 billion in contested tariffs are entitled to refunds. The issue has been left for lower courts to decide.
Legal counsel
Lawsuit adds to tariff ruling's fallout
FedEx is being represented by Crowell & Moring, a Washington-based law firm that also represents companies like Costco, Revlon, and EssilorLuxottica in similar IEEPA refund cases. The lawsuit adds to the legal and financial fallout of the Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), potentially leading to billions of dollars in repayment claims across corporate America.
Presidential reaction
Trump's response to Supreme Court ruling, Senate Democrats's stance
In response to the Supreme Court's ruling, Trump said he would move forward with new global tariffs issued under different statutes. He announced a 10% global tariff which he increased to 15% less than 24 hours later. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have called for refunds from the illegally collected tariffs to go to small businesses and urged larger companies to pass any amount returned on to their customers.