Well MAYBE JUST MAYBE, small business and consumer will get a Tariff Refund…
WSJ 02/23/26
FedEx filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, seeking a full refund plus interest for what it paid in trade duties stemming from President Trump’s tariffs enacted last year.
The logistics company filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. Court of International Trade, after Friday’s Supreme Court decision that struck down Trump’s tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or Ieepa.
In the complaint, FedEx asked the court to refund the duties collected from the company on all entries subject to tariffs under Ieepa. The company didn’t say how much it had paid in tariffs.
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, didn’t address whether the government will have to pay back the tariff revenue it already has collected, but it did say that challenges to the Ieepa tariffs fall within the jurisdiction of the Court of International Trade.
That has created a new scramble as hundreds of companies file to claw back the tariffs they have paid on goods imported into the U.S. over the past several months.
FedEx joins a roster of other companies that have filed similar lawsuits against the Trump administration, including Costco, Revlon Consumer Products, Bumble Bee Foods and Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing.
FedEx, which has a customs brokerage business, collected tariffs from U.S. companies that were importing goods. It was also at times tasked with collecting the tariff directly from U.S. consumers who were receiving packages shipped from overseas. If the duties are refunded to FedEx, they could then be returned to those who paid them.
A FedEx spokeswoman said the company “has taken necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record to seek duty refunds.”
Business at FedEx and other logistics companies has been hit hard by the tariffs. Chief Executive Raj Subramaniam said the tariffs reduced FedEx’s trans-Pacific flight capacity originating from Asia by 25% year-over-year in the quarter ended in November, and decreased its third-party capacity from the region by nearly 35%.
The Supreme Court case involved two categories of tariffs. Trump imposed one category on virtually every country in the world, ostensibly to repair trade deficits. He imposed the other set of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, saying those countries are responsible for the flow of illegal fentanyl into the U.S.
Other, smaller tariffs that Trump has enacted under different laws remain standing. Through mid-December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection had brought in about $133.5 billion worth of the tariffs ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. The agency has said it would stop collecting the Ieepa tariffs at midnight on Feb. 24.
After the lawyer costs, after covering associated operational costs of collecting, and after covering the cost of setting up the “refunds”, … what ever is left could be but would it be refunded to those who paid them? … doubtful …
It is abundantly clear that the Justices of the Supreme Court were more concerned with limiting presidential power, than they were of returning any tariffs collected to those who paid them.
The fact that FEDEX felt it needed to take this action, shows that they saw themselves as the only entity which could seek redress for the banned behavior, and they did so with no plan as to who would pay for what it would take to pay for returning the money to those who funded the payments.
I rarely have anything nice to say about FEDEX but I give them credit for their actions to try to recover funds for their customers.
This does not mean I endorse the decision or am any more likely to use or tolerate the use of FEDEX service.
In fairness to Fedex, they did not need spend a dime to plan, as the ruling could have gone the other way as 6 justices could have easily determined they were legal (as 3 convolutedly did).
Further, these tariffs will not be refunded for at least a year, as a suit needs to be found in the affirmative, then a government appeal in some district, then another appeal to the SC, etc.
So they have plenty of time to think it through.
As being the “Importer of Record” any customer that ultimately “paid” the tariff, was simply excluded from suing the government, so any refund would be a win.
As to the to a plan now, they could offer a 75% take lets say and deduct 25% for administrative purposes and legal purposes. That would be a PR bonanza.
I expect UPS / DHL to follow suit, as allowing Fedex to bask in a win like this could potentially be very negative to their large customer base.
As for brokerage fees, no one will get those back.
Much like Amazon FBA, one is not refunded for the sellers fees, as they are sunk cost actually incurred in pull/pack/shipping, even if the order is returned.
It is like one of the many class action suits, that pop up in your email (since I have been in business forever, I get 1 or 2 a year).
You fill out the forms and 2, 3 years later a check arrives (maybe).
Free Money.
I am sure many of you applied for the Visa/Mastercard Class action of 2023.
I had no clue what the amount I would get. I had $5 million in Visa/MC charges
between 2004 and 2019
