FedEx Sues US For Refund Of Trump’s Emergency Tax Money
Global shipping company FedEx on Monday filed a lawsuit in U.S. Commerce Court seeking reimbursement for President Donald Trump’s emergency spending, one of the highest recovery efforts since the U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down illegal tariffs.
A flood of multi-billion dollar recovery cases are expected by trade lawyers after the blockbuster decision. The restitution process is yet to be settled by the lower court, however, which complicates the matter.
More than $175 billion in US tax collections could be rolled back after the US Supreme Court on Friday ruled 6-3 that Trump exceeded his authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a sanctions law, to impose tariffs on goods from other countries, Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists said.
“Plaintiffs seek full reimbursement from Defendants for all IEEPA duties Plaintiffs have paid in the United States,” FedEx said in the lawsuit, referring to the charges imposed by Trump.
FedEx and its logistics division served as the importer of record for shipments subject to IEEPA charges. The Memphis-based company did not provide a dollar amount for the refund it is seeking.
FedEx in its lawsuit named US Customs and Border Protection, the agency’s commissioner Rodney Scott and the United States of America as defendants. CBP and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Crowell & Moring in Washington, DC is representing FedEx in the case and referred Reuters to the company, which did not immediately comment.
Crowell & Moring also represents discount club retailer Costco, cosmetics company Revlon, eyewear retailer EssilorLuxottica and other companies in IEEPA refund cases.
Importers, distributors and suppliers appear to be the least likely to win IEEPA tax refunds because their paperwork may include excise tax documents or invoices with excise duty violations on certain goods, said Ron Ciotti, a partner at the law firm Hinckley Allen in Boston, which represents construction contractors and engineers throughout the United States.
“If there was a tax increase in your contract or a revenue-based price adjustment clause, and that’s why the price went up, if you had a contract that said that, you may be able to get a refund,” Ciotti said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, seen as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, separately sought tax refund checks for Americans after the Supreme Court overturned them.
“I have heard some (people) say that this is a win for the consumer, because they should get a refund on certain products that were not charged,” said Ciotti.
“I don’t see how they can do it,” he said, adding that many businesses and consumers pay higher prices for goods without a written explanation of how the prices contributed to the higher prices and may lack the evidence needed to get a refund.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Stephen Coates)
