In a bold move, global shipping giant FedEx has filed a lawsuit seeking a "full refund" of the tariffs it paid under former President Donald Trump's controversial trade policies. This comes on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that deemed Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose these tariffs as an overreach of presidential authority.
What this really means is that FedEx, along with potentially hundreds of other companies, are now lining up to recoup billions of dollars in tariffs that were illegally collected by the Trump administration. As Reuters reports, the Supreme Court's decision has opened the floodgates for a wave of lawsuits aimed at getting this money back.
A Costly Miscalculation
The crux of FedEx's argument is that it served as the "importer of record" on goods subject to Trump's IEEPA tariffs, and is therefore entitled to a full refund of those duties. This could potentially amount to a significant sum, as the Penn-Wharton Budget Model estimates over $175 billion in U.S. tariff collections are now subject to potential refunds.
The bigger picture here is that Trump's reckless use of the IEEPA statute to wage his trade war has now come back to haunt him and his administration. By overstepping his authority, Trump has opened the door for companies to claw back billions that they were forced to pay in the name of his "America First" agenda. As NBC News reports, FedEx is just the first major company to take legal action, with many more likely to follow suit.
This saga serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked presidential power. Trump's trade policies caused real harm to American businesses and consumers, and now those same entities are fighting back to recoup their losses. It remains to be seen how the courts will handle the refund process, but one thing is clear - Trump's tariff legacy is far from over.