Federal Express Corp. (CCJ Top 250, No. 1) and FedEx Logistics Inc. filed a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. Court of International Trade, seeking full refunds for the likely millions of dollars in tariffs it paid under executive orders that the Supreme Court recently declared unlawful.
The complaint follows a Feb. 20 Supreme Court decision, which stripped the president of the authority to impose tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The court ruled that while IEEPA allows the president to regulate imports during national emergencies, that power does not extend to the imposition of duties.
President Trump just a few hours later announced new 10% §122 tariffs globally, and increased them to 15% the following day.
Background for carriers
The legal battle stems from a series of executive orders issued in early 2025 that rattled North American logistics and global trade. These orders initially imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico to address border security and drug trafficking, alongside a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
By April 2025, the trade landscape grew even more volatile for logistics providers. A "Reciprocal Tariff Order" established a 10% baseline duty on nearly all U.S. imports, while specific rates for China eventually skyrocketed to 145% after a series of amendments and retaliatory measures.
The impact on FedEx
As major importers of record, FedEx and its logistics subsidiary were responsible for paying these "IEEPA duties" on goods they brought into the country. Tariffs brought in $179 billion in total receipts under IEEPA, estimates show. FedEx, in its suit, does not state how much it paid in tariffs but argues it has suffered direct financial injury from these now-defunct mandates.
FedEx didn't respond to a query from CCJ Tuesday with regard to the dollar amount the company is seeking, and what the company plans to do with those funds should they be awarded.
The lawsuit names U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the United States of America as defendants. FedEx is asking the court to:
- Force CBP to reliquidate past entries that included the illegal tariffs.
- Process all current unliquidated entries without the IEEPA duties.
- Issue full refunds for all collected tariffs, plus interest.
"This Court is bound by the Learning Resources decision and as a result of that decision should order refunds of all IEEPA duties paid by Plaintiffs, with interest as provided by law," FedEx wrote in its 11-page filing.
What this means for the industry
FedEx is the first company to file suit in the wake of SCOTUS's decision last week and could be clearing a path for other trucking and logistics firms that also acted as importers of record to recoup costs. CBP announced Feb. 22 that it would cease collecting the challenged duties for any goods entered after midnight Feb. 24, 2026.
However, the refund process for duties already paid is not automatic. While the government previously stated it would not object to refunds of duties found to be unlawful, companies may need to follow the 180-day protest window or seek judicial relief similar to FedEx to ensure they are reimbursed.
