Costco Sues for Refunds Before Supreme Court Rules on Tariff Legality

The retail giant’s complaint requests a complete refund of duties it has already paid if the Supreme Court decides that the tariffs are unlawful.

A Costco Wholesale warehouse sign is seen outside of a store in Silver Spring, Md., on Aug. 5, 2023. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Retail giant Costco Wholesale Corporation filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Nov. 28 in an effort to lay the groundwork for refunds of tariffs collected since President Donald Trump enacted global tariff policies under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The complaint filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in Manhattan argued that the president’s invocation of the act beginning in February illegally imposed tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, Canada, and China. Trump has said that tariffs were justified as a matter of national emergency because of the amount of fentanyl making its way into the United States from those countries, and that the global levies are a necessary tool to negotiate trade deals that level the playing field between the United States and key global trade partners.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding Trump’s authorization to invoke the IEEPA in early November. The issue has been fast-tracked, but the justices have not announced when they intend to make a ruling. Costco’s complaint requests a complete refund of duties it has already paid if the Supreme Court decides that the tariffs are unlawful.

Additionally, Costco is seeking “an injunction preventing Defendants from imposing further duties on it under the executive orders challenged in this lawsuit; and full refund from Defendants of all IEEPA duties Plaintiff has already paid to the United States as a result of the executive orders challenged in this lawsuit, as well as those it will continue to pay,” its lawyers wrote.

The complaint was filed after Costco was denied a request for additional time to finalize its tariff calculations assessed on imported goods. That decision could impact the company’s ability to collect a refund in full if the tariffs are invalidated, the company’s lawyers argue.

The lawsuit does not say how much Costco has paid in tariffs; however, revenue from tariffs has soared throughout the year. For fiscal year 2025, the federal government collected nearly $196 billion in duties, taxes, and fees—a 122 percent increase from the prior fiscal year.

Cato scholar Brent Skorup said in a note sent to The Epoch Times that if the Supreme Court rejects the Trump administration’s reading of the IEEPA, it may also rule that firms are entitled to get back the tariffs they paid this year.

He said it remains uncertain whether refunds will be granted and, if they are, how much they might be.

“But the possibility has prompted many companies—including Costco—to file actions in the U.S. Court of International Trade to get in line, so to speak, for potential refunds,” he said.

On Aug. 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in a 7-4 decision that Trump’s global tariff policies were illegal, sending the case to the nation’s highest court. The tariffs remain in place while the justices consider the case.

More than a dozen states have sued the Trump Administration over the president’s tariff policies. In April, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Vermont filed suit against the president, arguing that only Congress has the power to enact tariff policies. California filed a similar suit.

The states join a growing list of companies that have filed similar suits, including Revlon Consumer Products LLC, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corporation, Bumble Bee, Yokohama Tire, and EssilorLuxottica.

Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

Kush Desai, White House spokesperson, said in a statement sent to The Epoch Times: “The economic consequences of the failure to uphold President Trump’s lawful tariffs are enormous and this suit highlights that fact.

“The White House looks forward to the Supreme Court’s speedy and proper resolution of this matter.”