Consumers Sue Amazon for Not Refunding Trump Tariff Costs

The lawsuit alleges that Amazon has refused to seek tariff refunds due to political and commercial interests.

The Amazon logo on Sept. 6, 2012. Reed Saxon/AP Photo

Amazon was sued on May 15 in a class action by consumers alleging that the company has no intention of refunding tariff costs, after the U.S. Supreme Court in February overturned most of the global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

The complaint, filed by two plaintiffs on behalf of consumers in a Seattle federal court, alleged that the company raised prices on imported goods to pass tariff costs on to consumers before the Supreme Court ruled in February that the tariffs Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were invalid.

The complaint alleges that Amazon has refused to seek tariff refunds from the federal government despite having the legal right to do so following the Supreme Court ruling.

“Amazon’s decision to forgo recovery serves its own political and commercial interests at the direct expense of the consumers who bore the tariff costs in the first place,” the lawsuit states. “Amazon has not returned any portion of those costs it passed on to consumers, and it has no intention of doing so.”

The complaint argues that consumers have no direct avenue for redress because only companies that import goods retain the right to recover refunds for tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court.

“The problem is ​that the funds Amazon is using to stay in the President’s good graces do ​not belong to Amazon. These funds were wrongfully taken from consumers to cover IEEPA tariffs ‌that ⁠have since been invalidated,” the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs are seeking a court order requiring Amazon to return funds it collected from consumers to cover tariff costs imposed under the IEEPA between February 2025 and February 2026.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Amazon for comment.

Other companies, including Costco and Nike, have also been hit with consumer lawsuits over their alleged failures to return tariff-related costs passed onto consumers.

Trump last year invoked the IEEPA to impose tariffs on trading partners, citing the need to regulate international transactions to respond to “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security. The Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 20 that the law does not clearly authorize the president to impose tariffs.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began issuing the first batch of refunds from tariffs imposed under the IEEPA on May 12. The agency last month launched the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system, designed to allow businesses to seek refunds for tariffs they paid under the IEEPA.

The CBP stated that it would implement the CAPE in phases, with the first phase covering “certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation.”