Costco sues Trump administration for US tariff refund

The lawsuit comes ahead of a looming Supreme Court decision about the legality of Trump’s tariffs.Published On 2 Dec 2025Costco has filed a lawsuit against the administration of United States President Donald Trump in efforts to get a full refund on the tariffs the company paid this year before the US Supreme Court weighs in on the legality of tariffs.The lawsuit, filed on Friday, also calls to block the collection of import duties.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Why is work-related migration to rich countries falling?list 2 of 4India orders phone makers to pre-install state-owned web safety app: Reportlist 3 of 4US, UK agree to zero tariffs on medicines; UK commits to higher spendinglist 4 of 4Jamaica secures $6.7bn for hurricane recovery and reconstruction planend of listCostco said that the tariffs need to be immediately addressed because there is a December 15 deadline to refund taxes that have already been paid. The lawsuit alleges that US Customs and Border Protection has denied the company’s request to extend the deadline.Costco did not specify the amount that it believes it should be refunded for.“Importers that have paid IEEPA duties, including Plaintiff, are not guaranteed a refund for those unlawfully collected tariffs in the absence of their own judgment and judicial relief,” the suit said.According to the suit, filed in the US Court of International Trade, Costco is also requesting a pause on further collections.“Plaintiff seeks relief from the impending liquidations to ensure that its right to a complete refund is not jeopardized,” the lawsuit said.The wholesale warehouse giant joins other large companies, including eyeglass maker Ray-Ban and makeup company Revlon, which are also suing the administration. Costco is represented by the law firm Crowell & Moring. The firm declined Al Jazeera’s request for comment.“They are filing within the statutory deadline in order to receive the [refunds] for the tariffs that were [allegedly] collected illegally,” Gregory Shaffer, professor of international law at Georgetown University School of Law, told Al Jazeera.