Costco Fights Back and Sues the Trump Administration

This week has been full of resistance, and Costco is now at the forefront of the fight against Trump’s strong arming.

As a of Friday, Costco has now sued the Trump administration to get a full refund of the forced tariffs they have paid so far this year. They are also seeking to block import duties from continuing to be collected from Costco as a different, related SCOTUS case plays out.

VIA Costco Website

According to the lawsuit, Costco claims that they are at risk of losing the money they have already paid to satisfy the tariffs even if the Supreme Court actually upholds earlier rulings that said Trump didn’t have the legal power to impose those duties.

They also said that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection denied the company’s request to extend to Dec. 15 of “liquidation”, which is supposed the final computation of tariffs assessed on imported items.

The more exciting part of this is that dozens of other companies have filed similar lawsuits to protect their rights to refunds. This is all in case the Supreme Court rules against the reciprocal tariffs Trump imposed on imports from U.S. trading partners. It also includes the “fentanyl tariffs” on goods from Canada, China, and Mexico.

By invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Trump can impose high tariffs. Even though in August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld in a ruling (7-4) to uphold a previous decision from the Court of International Trade which found that Trump does not have the power.

On an expedited bases, SCOTUS has agreed to are the administration’s appeal of the lower court ruling, but it’s not clear when or how the court will decide on the case.

With all of that being said, the Trump administration has warned of a potential fallout of having to refund hundreds of millions of dollars in tariffs if SCOTUS does end up upholding the lower court rulings.

What we’re seeing is a full-scale pushback from major businesses that feel blindsided by Trump’s tariff strategy. Costco’s suit also highlights the fear of these companies being stuck with massive, irreversible losses-when multiple courts have already ruled that Trump may not have had the authority to impose the duties in the first place.

Dozens of corporations have filed similar suits; this is not an isolated fight but a coordinated effort to challenge the legality, financial impact, and chaotic rollout of the administration’s tariff agenda.

With the Supreme Court about to weigh in, the stakes couldn’t be higher. If the lower court rulings are upheld, it could force the Trump administration to refund hundreds of millions of dollars-a huge financial and political blow.

If the Court sides with Trump, companies like Costco risk losing every dollar they’ve paid thus far. Either way, the battle is shaping up as one of the most consequential tests of presidential power and economic policy in recent years, and it’s far from over.