U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain. Christopher Furlong/Pool via REUTERS
President Donald Trump is now being hit with a new lawsuit by membership-based warehouse retail chain Costco, which is demanding a full refund of all tariffs paid that the president imposed earlier this year.
NBC News reported Monday that Costco is laying claim to tariff-related expenses in the event that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upholds lower court rulings that have deemed the vast bulk of his tariffs illegal. SCOTUS has not yet issued a ruling, though Business Insider reported Monday that the administration is likely to fall back on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 in the event SCOTUS rules against Trump.
Costco has not said publicly how much it has paid in tariffs, though Costco Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said a third of the company's sales are from imported goods. Costco's most recent financial statement at the end of the 2025 fiscal year showed the company posted nearly $270 billion in total revenue. Assuming Millerchip's figures are accurate, Costco paid tariffs on roughly $90 billion worth of goods sold this year. This means a full refund of all tariffs paid could potentially number in the billions given that tariffs on major exporters like China were in excess of 100 percent as recently as October.
In an earnings call with investors earlier this year, Millerchip maintained that it had mostly eaten the cost of Trump's tariffs, saying that it sought to keep prices stable on imported food items "to make sure that we're protecting the member."
"We continue to work closely with our suppliers to find ways to mitigate the impact of tariffs, including moving the country of production where it makes sense and consolidating our buying efforts globally to lower the cost of goods across all our markets," Millerchip said in September.
In addition to Costco, several other companies have filed lawsuits seeking tariff refunds including cosmetics manufacturer Revlon, eyeglasses maker EssilorLuxottica, motorcycle manufacturer Kawasaki, canned foods seller Bumble Bee and Japanese auto supplier Yokohama Tire. Other smaller companies have filed similar suits.
Many of the new trade duties the administration put in place were imposed under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act of 1977. (IEEPA) However, two separate federal courts have agreed with plaintiffs that Trump does not have the power to unilaterally impose new tariffs under the IEEPA, and that regulating imports is the job of Congress, rather than the president.
Click here to read NBC's report in full.