FedEx sues Trump administration for “full refund” of tariff payments

FedEx sued the Trump administration over its tariffs on Monday, asking for a “full refund” of all payments it made to the government under a set of tariff policies that were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, is the first major lawsuit seeking tariff reimbursements since the high court ruled last week that President Trump had exceeded his authority when he used the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on most of the world.

The Supreme Court did not indicate whether businesses that paid tariffs under IEEPA are entitled to refunds. The issue is expected to draw a flood of lawsuits that will be litigated in the lower courts over the billions of dollars in tariff payments that have been made over the last year, and trade experts have predicted years of legal wrangling.

FedEx sought an order from the trade court that would force Customs and Border Protection to refund all duties paid last year under the federal emergency powers law.

“This Court has jurisdiction and authority to order remedial relief and refunds of IEEPA duties paid by importers,” FedEx wrote in its complaint, adding, “Plaintiffs have paid IEEPA duties to the United States and thus have suffered injury caused by those orders.”

“Supporting our customers as they navigate regulatory changes remains our priority,” a FedEx spokesperson said in a statement. “FedEx 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 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that the tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unlawful.”

On a quarterly earnings call last year, executives at the company said they expected a $1 billion hit to profits in 2025 because of the Trump administration’s policies.

In its suit, the logistics company asked for 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 a number of other large corporations that sued before the Supreme Court ruled, including wholesaler Costco, beauty company Revlon and grocery company Bumble Bee Foods.

The issue reached the Supreme Court due to lawsuits from a number of small businesses, including New York-based wine importer V.O.S. Selections and toymaker Learning Resources.

After the high court’s ruling, President Trump quickly imposed a new 15% global tariff using a different trade law from 1974, which allows the president to impose duties for no more than 150 days to address “large and serious” balance-of-payment deficits. 

The ruling specifically impacted tariffs that were issued under IEEPA, including Mr. Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries and drug trafficking-related tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. 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 a request for comment.