Multinational retail giant Costco has sued the US government to ensure a full refund of import duties if the Supreme Court rejects President Donald Trump’s authority to impose tariffs without Congress’s approval.
Costco’s lawsuit urges the Federal Trade Court to declare Trump’s ’emergency’ tariffs illegal, a power the president says he has under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Two lower courts have already ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by using emergency powers to impose the tariffs.
The case has now reached the Supreme Court, and many companies are trying to protect their rights to refunds if the judges reduce the tariffs.
In the lawsuit filed over the Thanksgiving holiday, Costco said its business had been harmed by the tariffs and it was worried it wouldn’t get its money back even if the top court upheld previous rulings.
Costco lawyers said “separate action is necessary” because “in the absence of their own judgment and judicial relief” refunds are not guaranteed.
The world’s third-largest retailer did not say how much it is asking for back, but trade data from the U.S. Customs agency shows importers like Costco have already paid about $90 billion in IEEPA-related tariffs as of the end of September.
Costco filed the lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade ahead of the December 15, 2025 deadline, after which it will have to fight to recover any money it paid to the government.
In May, that court was the first to rule that Trump’s tariffs were unlawful, a decision that was later affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
At a hearing last month, Supreme Court justices appeared to cast doubt on the president’s authority to impose the levy without congressional approval.
Trump administration lawyers have argued in court that emergency powers give the president the authority to impose global tariffs.
The administration has warned that an adverse decision would limit its ability to negotiate with countries and cost the treasury billions of dollars already collected.
“The economic consequences of President Trump’s failure to maintain lawful tariffs are enormous and this lawsuit highlights that fact,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told CNBC in a statement. “The White House looks forward to the Supreme Court’s prompt and appropriate resolution of this case,” the statement said.
Last month, the President said the US was “taking trillions of dollars” in tariffs and promised “every person will be paid a dividend of at least $2000 (not including high income people!).
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