Costco has initiated legal action to secure a complete reimbursement in the event that the Supreme Court overturns the majority of tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump. This lawsuit aligns Costco with numerous other businesses that have recently sought similar refunds as anticipation builds around the court’s impending ruling.

Posted: Dec 2, 2025 / 02:20 PM CST

Updated: Dec 2, 2025 / 02:20 PM CST

(The Hill) — Costco filed a recent lawsuit seeking a full refund if the Supreme Court strikes down the bulk of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. 

The big-box warehouse joins dozens of companies that have lined up for refunds in recent weeks as the high court’s decision looms. 

Like the others, Costco said it needed to file its own case because it is “not guaranteed a refund for those unlawfully collected tariffs in the absence of their own judgment and judicial relief.” 

The company is represented by law firm Crowell & Moring, which has brought roughly 50 nearly identical lawsuits on behalf of separate companies. 

The list of companies that have recently sued includes players in the auto industry — like Kawasaki — and several corporations part of the Toyota Group, food companies like Bumble Bee Foods and the cosmetics business Revlon. Even board game company Smirk & Dagger Games filed a suit. 

It comes as the Supreme Court prepares to decide on whether Trump can invoke a 1970s emergency powers law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), to justify his sweeping tariffs. The justices heard oral arguments last month.

IEEPA provides the president unilateral authority to “regulate” importation when necessary to combat a national emergency, but a group of Democratic-led states and small businesses are attempting to convince the court that Trump has stretched the law too far. 

Trump has invoked IEEPA dating back to February, when he first declared a fentanyl emergency to impose levies on Canada, China and Mexico. The president has since declared a trade deficit emergency to implement his so-called reciprocal tariffs on trading partners across the globe.