Logistics major FedEx took a legal turn and has become the first to sue the U.S. government seeking a refund of tariffs it paid under an emergency powers law that the Supreme Court recently ruled was unlawfully used to impose duties, a filing showed on Monday.
In a complaint filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York on Monday, FedEx demanded a "full refund" of all tariffs collected under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The lawsuit targets U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. President Donald Trump has invoked the IEEPA to impose tariffs on dozens of trading partners without congressional approval since the start of his second term. The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the law does not authorize a president to unilaterally levy tariffs.
The justices did not decide whether the government must reimburse importers, leaving the issue to lower courts.
Several U.S. media outlets described the FedEx filing as the first major corporate lawsuit by a U.S. company following the ruling. The logistics group argued it suffered harm by paying duties that have now been deemed unlawful.
After the court's decision, observers anticipated a wave of refund claims. According to estimates by the University of Pennsylvania, potential repayments could total about $175 billion, roughly 2.5% of the federal budget.
