Costco has sued the Trump administration over its flagship tariffs policy, joining a growing list of companies vying in court to ensure they are refunded if the Supreme Court strikes those tariffs down.
In a complaint filed last week before the U.S. Court of International Trade, lawyers for Costco asked the Supreme Court to rule Trump’s ’emergency’ tariffs illegal and to order the full refund of all such tariffs it has already paid.
Other companies which have brought such lawsuits include the American cosmetics titan Revlon and the Japanese motorbike and motor maker Kawasaki Motors.
Three lower courts have already ruled against President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on imports from across the world, and now the Supreme Court is hearing arguments for a final decision.
But if the nation’s highest court also rejects the tariffs, lawyers for Costco — the nation’s biggest warehouse club retailer and the third biggest retailer in the world — said it was “not guaranteed” that the company would get a refund for what it has paid so far.
“By any objective measure, the challenged tariff orders are ‘of vast economic and political significance’. Because [the law] does not clearly authorize the President to set tariffs — indeed, the statute does not mention the words ‘tariff’ or ‘duty’ — the challenged orders cannot stand and the defendants are not authorized to implement and collect them,” the lawyers wrote.
In response, a White House spokesperson told Bloomberg News: “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.”
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
The Trump administration has been under both political and legal pressure in recent months, as economists warn that tariffs are increasing rather than decreasing inflation while his promised $2,000 checks for ordinary Americans (paid for by tariff revenue) have yet to materialize.
In its closely watched Supreme Court case, even conservative justices appeared skeptical that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act gave Trump the legal power to impose his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs in April.
Costco did not say how much it has paid in tariffs, but its executives have previously said they are “doing everything [they] can” to keep consumer prices level for basic necessities, despite its extra costs.
