Costco sues Trump Administration over ‘illegal’ tariffs
The Costco Wholesale Corporation has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government — specifically the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — challenging the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and seeking a full refund of duties it paid.
The lawsuit was filed November 28, 2025, in the U.S. Court of International Trade in Manhattan under case number 1:25-cv-00316, according to Bloomberg Law.
The Plaintiff (Costco) named the following as defendants:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- The Commissioner of CBP, Rodney S. Scott
- The United States (i.e., the federal government)
Basically, Costco is suing CBP, its commissioner, and the U.S. government — effectively challenging the entire tariff-enforcement system tied to the IEEPA orders.
According to NBC News, the complaint argues that IEEPA does not give Donald Trump any authority to impose tariffs. Because the law “does not clearly authorize the President to set tariffs,” the tariff orders should be declared unlawful, and any duties collected under them invalidated.
Fox Business News reports that Costco is asking the Court to:
- rule the tariffs invalid,
- block further tariff collections on its shipments, and
- order a full refund of all duties it already paid under the IEEPA tariffs.
And Costco is not alone in suing the Trump administration over tariffs. The wholesale giant joins a growing list of companies challenging the so-called “reciprocal”/emergency tariffs. Those companies include Bumble Bee Foods, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., Revlon Consumer Products Corp., EssilorLuxottica (Ray-Ban parent company), and Yokohama Tire Corporation have also filed or joined similar suits, according to Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.
Their shared claim: the IEEPA tariffs are unconstitutional because under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the power to levy taxes or duties — not the president acting unilaterally, per the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
If Costco prevails, it could recover a substantial amount of money — though it hasn’t disclosed how much it paid in total. The case is expected to prompt a wave of similar filings from other import-reliant companies, putting additional pressure on the Trump administration.
Although we don’t know how much money Costco expects to recoup if successful in their lawsuit, reported estimates state that if the IEEPA tariffs are struck down, the potential refund pool for all affected companies could be “nearly $90 billion.” It’s plausible that Costco could recoup millions, tens of millions of dollars, or more.
You can view a copy of the Costco Lawsuit as provided by the U.S. Courts.
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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