Topline
The Supreme Court could rule as soon as Friday on the fate of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, and major companies including Costco, Reebok and Xerox have already started preparing for a ruling against the government, filing preemptive lawsuits to claw back the money they’ve paid in tariffs.
Key Facts
The Supreme Court is now deliberating on the legality of Trump’s widespread “Liberation Day” tariffs and whether the president could legally impose the duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the law Trump used to justify his policy.
It’s unclear when the court could rule in the case, but the Supreme Court intends to release its first opinions of the year Friday, so it’s possible—but not guaranteed—the tariff decision could come out then.
If the court does strike Trump’s tariffs down, companies that have already paid IEEPA tariffs could now be eligible to have that money refunded, because the fees wouldn’t have been lawful to begin with.
Since trade experts believe it’s unlikely the Trump administration would refund the tariffs automatically, hundreds of companies have started filing lawsuits in the U.S. Court of International Trade, preemptively asking the court to declare the IEEPA tariffs they’ve paid unlawful and order the government to refund them.
Numerous major companies are among the more than 1,000 businesses suing the Trump administration and asking for refunds, including Costco, Reebok, Peloton, Dole, Revlon and Goodyear Tires.
The cases are on hold until the Supreme Court rules, and would likely be dropped should the Supreme Court uphold Trump’s tariffs, or say the government can’t impose new tariffs going forward, but can keep the money it’s already collected.
What We Don’t Know
When the Supreme Court will issue the tariff ruling. The court does not say in advance what rulings it will issue on its opinion days, so it won’t be clear if the tariff decision is announced Friday until that morning. If the decision doesn’t come out Friday, the court will rule sometime before its term ends in late June, but legal experts broadly believe justices will rule quicker in the tariff case than they typically do in other cases, given the speed with which the court took up the dispute.
What Companies Have Filed Lawsuits?
More than 900 lawsuits have already been filed on behalf of businesses seeking tariff refunds, according to a tally compiled by Bloomberg, which collectively name more than 1,000 companies as plaintiffs. Among the most recognizable plaintiffs are Costco, Kawasaki Motors, EssilorLuxottica—which owns major eyewear brands like Ray Ban—Revlon Cosmetics, Bumble Bee Foods, Schick Manufacturing, Playtex, Spencer Gifts, PopSockets, Conair, Xerox, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Dooney & Bourke, Barnes & Nobles, Reebok, PUMA, Lane Bryant, Steve Madden, Bath & Body Works, Bose, TOMS Shoes, Dole Fresh Fruit Company, e.l.f. Cosmetics, J. Crew Group, Peloton Interactive, Blick Art Materials and Diageo, which owns major alcohol brands like Guinness and Smirnoff.
Big Number
$133.5 billion. That’s how much companies paid in IEEPA-based tariffs through Dec. 14, according to government data. The amount paid is likely now around $150 billion, as estimated by Reuters.
Surprising Fact
While numerous companies are seeking refunds for the tariffs they’ve paid, some may not keep whatever money they get back. Multiple trade experts and attorneys have confirmed to Forbes that Wall Street financial firms have made deals with importers to buy up the refund rights to the tariffs the companies have paid, meaning the firm will get the full refund rather than the company that initially paid the tariff. In exchange for the rights, the firms are giving importers a percentage of the money they paid in tariffs, meaning companies will get a guaranteed infusion of cash up front no matter how the Supreme Court rules, while the financial firms gamble in hopes of getting an even bigger pay day. Such deals likely will not be reflected in court filings over tariff refunds, as experts predicted to Forbes any money would likely have to be recouped directly by the company that paid the tariffs, and then passed on to the firm they sold the refund rights to.
Key Background
Trump has made tariffs the centerpiece of his economic agenda, first unveiling tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada at the start of his term before rolling out more sweeping duties on imports from nearly all countries at a “Liberation Day” event in April. The president has imposed the tariffs despite warnings from economists that they could raise prices for consumers and harm the economy, and the “Liberation Day” tariffs were initially scaled down for months after the original rollout wreaked havoc on the stock market. While major companies are now going to court against the tariffs, a coalition of small businesses and Democratic-led states led the initial lawsuits against the policy, leading to multiple courts siding with the plaintiffs and ruling the president cannot impose tariffs under IEEPA. That law gives presidents broad powers to impose economic sanctions during national emergencies, but does not say anything about tariffs specifically, and plaintiffs argued there wasn’t an emergency to justify such sweeping tariffs even if it did. The tariffs have remained in place while the Supreme Court has been considering the issue, and justices heard oral arguments in November. Trump has repeatedly claimed the court case poses an existential threat to the U.S. economy, most recently claiming on Truth Social this week that the case is “one of the most important ever” and telling supporters to “PRAY THAT THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT ALLOWS OUR COUNTRY TO CONTINUE ITS UNPRECEDENTED MARCH TOWARD UNPARALLELED GREATNESS!”
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