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By Jesus Mesa
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President Donald Trump is facing an onslaught of legal challenges over his administration's tariff policies.
Costco, Wanxiang Automotive Components, PMI Worldwide, and nearly two dozen states are all filing suits, joining more than 1,000 other companies arguing the import taxes are unlawful and causing widespread economic harm.
Why It Matters
The tariff disputes center on two separate legal battles. The first involves tariffs the Supreme Court already struck down in February 2026, ruling that Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Those tariffs collected $133 billion before being invalidated, and more than 2,000 companies are now suing to recover what they paid.
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The second battle is over Trump's response. After the Supreme Court ruling, he immediately imposed new 10 percent tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, signaling plans to raise them to 15 percent. States and companies are now challenging this new tariff regime as an illegal end-run around the court's decision.
What To Know
The flood of litigation reflects widespread opposition to Trump's tariff strategy. On March 5, attorneys general from 24 states—led by California, Oregon, Arizona, and New York—sued to block the new tariffs, arguing the president cannot use a different law to accomplish what the Supreme Court just prohibited.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the new approach amounts to the same constitutional violation. "He's calling it a fix. It is not," Mayes said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. "It is the same illegal power-grab under a different statute than he used the last time."
The 24 states filed their complaint in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) through 22 state prosecutors and two Democratic governors.
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Major corporations are pursuing separate legal strategies. Costco filed a class-action lawsuit on March 11, seeking refunds for customers for tariffs passed along through higher prices. The suit contends that if Costco recovers tariff payments from the government, the company owes those refunds to the shoppers who ultimately paid for them.
CEO Ron Vachris said during an earnings call on March 5 that uncertainty clouds the path forward. "It is not yet clear what the process will be, what refunds, if any will be received and when this will happen," he said.
Chinese automotive supplier Wanxiang Automotive Components is also challenging the tariffs. The move carries added weight given the company's history with U.S. authorities—in December 2025, it settled a decade-long lawsuit by paying $53 million for misclassifying imported parts and underpaying customs duties.
PMI Worldwide, which makes the popular Stanley drinkware line dating back to 1913, has similarly filed suit, arguing the tariffs harm its business.
The financial stakes are enormous. The federal government collected more than $133 billion in the now-struck-down tariffs through mid-December, and could ultimately owe refunds totaling up to $175 billion, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model. More than 2,000 lawsuits have already been filed with the CIT by companies seeking access to the potential refunds.
What People Are Saying
Costco CEO Ron Vachris said during a second-quarter earnings call on March 5: "As we've done in the past, when legal challenges have recovered charges passed on in some form to our members, our commitment will be to find the best way to return this value to our members through lower prices and better values."
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement on March 5: "After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill.”
White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai said: "The economic consequences of the failure to uphold President Trump's lawful tariffs are enormous and this suit highlights that fact. The White House looks forward to the Supreme Court's speedy and proper resolution of this matter."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in its declaration to the U.S. Court of International Trade last week: “CBP is now facing an unprecedented volume of refunds. Its existing administrative procedures and technology are not well suited to a task of this scale and will require manual work that will prevent personnel from fully carrying out the agency’s trade enforcement mission. Personnel would be redirected from responsibilities that serve to mitigate imminent threats to national security and economic security.”
What Happens Next
A federal judge on March 4 cleared the way for thousands of businesses to receive refunds for tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down, ordering Customs and Border Protection to issue payments.
However, the Supreme Court offered no guidance on refunds; its decision did not even mention them. The Trump administration has been given a Thursday deadline to tell the CIT how it plans to do pay the refunds.
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