FedEx sues US for refund on Trump’s earlier tariffs as experts warn companies it could take years
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The scramble among conpanies to get the roughly US$175 billion in tariff revenues deemed illegal could become a multi-year “mess” in the courts.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – Global transportation company FedEx on Feb 23 filed a lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade seeking a refund for President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, which the US Supreme Court deemed illegal last week.
“Plaintiffs seek for themselves a full refund from Defendants of all IEEPA duties Plaintiffs have paid to the United States,” FedEx said in the lawsuit. It was referring to tariffs he imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
FedEx did not provide the dollar value of the refund it is seeking.
It named US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency’s commissioner Rodney Scott and the United States of America as defendants.
Law firm Crowell & Moring, which is representing FedEx in the lawsuit, also represents discount club retailer Costco, cosmetics firm Revlon, eyewear seller EssilorLuxottica and other companies in IEEPA tariff refund cases.
The scramble to get the roughly US$175 billion (S$222 billion) in tariff revenues could become a multi-year “mess” in the courts, as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh put it.
Said Mr Mark Ludwikowski, chair of Clark Hill’s international trade practice: “Whether refunds extend automatically to all importers or are processed first through the existing Court of International Trade docket will depend on how the lower court structures the remedy.”
Companies’ procedures for getting a refund could depend as well on whether they have already challenged the tariffs in court or administratively and whether the imports have been “liquidated” – meaning CBP has finalised the duty amount owed.
The government will pay refunds to the importer, not the final commercial customer and not individual consumers.
Lawyers are also bracing for a spate of litigation from companies that bore the cost of passed-along tariffs but are not in line for refunds themselves and are now trying to get a share of the refund benefits.
How long will it take?
A lawsuit against tariffs Mr Trump imposed on China in his first term as president – unrelated to the Feb 20 ruling – has still not concluded.
Companies seeking refunds in the IEEPA case have reason to hope an outcome will be faster, since the Supreme Court has already ruled.
Still, the process could be drawn out if Customs fights the trade court’s refund procedures, said Mr Luis Arandia, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg.
In a press conference, Mr Trump predicted protracted litigation over the refunds. “We’ll end up being in court for the next five years,” he said. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
