Flood of Tariff Refund Lawsuits Hits Little-Known US Trade Court

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Around 2,000 lawsuits have been filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking refunds for tariffs imposed last year. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the tariffs illegal on Feb. 20 but left the refund process to customs officials and the trade court. The court may adopt a test-case approach similar to a 1998 refund litigation involving the Harbor Maintenance Fee.

Why it matters

Importers seeking their share of more than $130 billion in tariff refunds are flocking to the little-known U.S. Court of International Trade, which must now figure out how to handle the expected explosion of cases. The court's approach to organizing and processing the refund claims could set a precedent for how the massive amount of tariff payments gets unwound.

The details

Multinationals such as FedEx and L'Oreal and hundreds of smaller companies have filed around 2,000 lawsuits at the U.S. Court of International Trade in Manhattan, seeking refunds for tariffs imposed last year by President Donald Trump. The Supreme Court did not address refunds, leaving that to customs officials and the eight active judges on the trade court. Lawyers for five of the plaintiffs suggested their lawsuits should serve as test cases to determine how the refunds will be calculated and issued, while other cases would be put on hold. Smaller importers want a simple, low-cost process for refunds, but trade lawyers say Customs and Border Protection could require importers to go through its established administrative process.

• The Supreme Court ruled the tariffs illegal on February 20, 2026.
• As of December 10, 2025, the illegal tariffs were collected on about 34 million shipments.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The U.S. Court of International Trade may adopt a test-case approach similar to a 1998 refund litigation involving the Harbor Maintenance Fee in order to determine how the tariff refunds will be calculated and issued.