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FedEx has sued the US government for a refund on Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, the first large American company to do so since the Supreme Court found the sweeping levies illegal.
The company on Monday filed a lawsuit with the US Court of International Trade seeking repayment of tariffs implemented via emergency powers enshrined in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
FedEx seeks “a full refund from [the government] of all IEEPA duties [it has] paid to the United States”, according to the complaint.
The White House suffered a big setback last week when the Supreme Court held that the president had no authority to use emergency powers to impose levies.
The opinion struck at a critical pillar of Trump’s presidency, but declined to address whether the government must refund tariff revenue linked to IEEPA, which experts estimate has risen to at least $160bn over the past year.
The top court focused specifically on how Trump implemented IEEPA and left other questions to lower courts. Experts said the issue of refunds was expected to be addressed by the CIT, which has been flooded with cases by tariff payers seeking repayments.
FedEx said: “Supporting our customers as they navigate regulatory changes remains our priority.
“FedEx has taken necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record to seek duty refunds from US Customs and Border Protection following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that the tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unlawful.”
The CBP and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump on Friday said it was “crazy” that the Supreme Court did not address whether the administration needed to issue refunds for tariff payments.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent echoed the president’s remarks, indicating refunds were unlikely to be paid anytime soon. “My sense is that could be dragged out over weeks, months, years,” he said at an event in Dallas. “I’ve got a feeling the American people won’t see it.”
Shortly after the top court’s judgment, Trump on Friday said he would replace the IEEPA tariffs with a blanket 10 per cent levy, which he then raised to 15 per cent on Saturday.
But as of 12.01am on Tuesday, Washington will implement a 10 per cent global levy, delaying the enactment of the 15 per cent tariff. The White House signalled that Trump was still committed to setting a global tariff of 15 per cent later.
