A shopper pushes a cart toward the entrance of a Costco warehouse in Colorado.
David Zalubowski/AP
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David Zalubowski/AP
Costco is now one of the largest companies to sue the Trump administration over the tariffs, hoping to secure refunds if the Supreme Court declares the new import duties illegal.
The Supreme Court is considering the future of Trump’s tariffs on nearly all imports. The justices appeared skeptical about their legitimacy during oral arguments last month. Lower courts had previously found that Trump improperly used emergency economic powers to set most of the new tariffs.
Dozens of companies across industries have filed lawsuits seeking refunds if the Supreme Court finds Trump’s tariffs illegal. The list includes makeup giant Revlon, canned foods maker Bumble Bee and Kawasaki – which makes motorcycles and more. Now Costco has joined the line.
“This is the first time we’re seeing big companies sticking their heads out in public,” said Mark Bush, a business law expert at Georgetown University. For the most part, smaller companies are leading the legal action against tariffs, he said, adding, “It’s good to finally see some giants joining the fray.”
In its lawsuit filed in the US Court of International Trade, Costco did not specify how much it had already paid in tariffs. But the retail giant worries that, even if the Supreme Court ultimately strikes down Trump’s tariff regime, it may not be able to recover all that money.
Costco executives said in May that about a third of what it sells in the US comes from abroad, mainly non-food items.
NPR’s Scott Horsley contributed to this report.
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