Main points
- FedEx has filed a lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade over Trump's policies.
- The company estimates the negative impact of the tariffs on its business at $1 billion and plans to compensate those who actually paid these duties.
A company in the US will sue Trump / Collage by Channel 24, photo by Getty Images
US logistics giant FedEx is demanding a refund of money from Trump's tariffs that the company paid on imported goods. The exact amount has not yet been disclosed, but last year FedEx reported that the impact of Trump's policies on its business was estimated at $1 billion.
Why is FedEx suing Trump?
The lawsuit was filed with the US Court of International Trade on February 23, after the US Supreme Court overturned the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal writes.
The company wants to return all the money it was charged in customs duties. Previously, the company collected these payments from American importers, and sometimes directly from customers who received packages from abroad. If the money is successfully recovered, it plans to compensate those who actually paid.
Although the Supreme Court did not address the issue of refunds, FedEx has taken the necessary steps to protect its rights as an importer to seek a refund of the duties paid from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. At this time, neither regulators nor the courts have established any refund procedures,
– says the FedEx website.
FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam says Trump's tariffs have hit business hard, with trans-Pacific volumes down 25% and Asian partners' capacity down nearly 35%.
Note: Last year, FedEx management estimated the negative impact of Trump's trade policies on its profits at about $1 billion. The defendants in the case are the US Customs and Border Protection, its Commissioner Rodney Scott, and the United States government itself.
What is known about the cancellation of Trump's tariffs?
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On February 23, it was announced that the US would stop charging illegal tariffs imposed under IEEPA, but other tariffs under Sections 232 and 301 would remain in place. The EU and other trading partners are concerned about the new 15% global tariffs that Trump announced after the court ruling and are demanding clarity from the US on the next steps.
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The US subsequently imposed a 10% tariff on imports, which could be raised to 15%, but has not yet been formally ordered. Trump plans to keep the tariffs as part of his trade policy and launch an investigation to rebuild the tariff regime.
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These decisions caused the dollar to fall 0.3% and gold to rise 1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices fell 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively.