More than 100 new lawsuits have been filed within days of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling a week ago that most of the tariffs imposed by President Trump on trading partners were unconstitutional, bringing the total number of lawsuits to over 2,000.
Bloomberg reports that major companies such as FedEx, Dyson, and L’Oreal have filed lawsuits demanding billions of dollars in tariff refunds. This is a heavy burden for the U.S. Court of International Trade, but this number represents only a small fraction of the hundreds of thousands of importers affected by the Supreme Court ruling.
Most of the lawsuits are filed by smaller companies, but trade lawyers say that when large companies like FedEx also file lawsuits, it reduces other companies’ fears of retaliation from the White House. Nevertheless, no one expects a quick resolution. While the Court of International Trade has experience handling large-scale refunds, it has never dealt with a case on the scale of this one.
This refund dispute between importers and the government could also trigger other legal disputes, such as disputes between importers and retailers over sharing the costs of tariffs.
The Trump administration is attempting to postpone court proceedings regarding whether it must refund billions of dollars in tariff revenue to importers.
Documents filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday evening (February 7) show that the Trump administration wanted to delay initiating legal proceedings at the Court of International Trade over tax refunds by four months. The Trump administration stated that, given the complexity of future developments, proceeding cautiously rather than hastily was the wiser course of action.
