FedEx says it will return to customers any refunds it gets back from Trump's illegal tariffs

Former ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton says U.S. President Donald Trump only cares how tariffs impact the United States, not other countries.

NEW YORK — Delivery company FedEx said in a statement on Thursday that it will return any tariff refund it might get to shippers and customers who paid them.

The statement came after FedEx filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade to request a refund on what it paid for tariffs set by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the IEEPA tariffs are illegal.

More than 1,000 companies have filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in efforts to recoup costs from the illegal tariffs, including large U.S. corporations like Costco and Revlon.

“If refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges,” FedEx said in a statement on Thursday. “When that will happen and the exact process for requesting and issuing refunds will depend in part on future guidance from the government and the court.”

The Supreme Court ruling did not address implementation of any system by which the companies and individuals who paid those tariffs could be refunded.

Setting up a system for refunds will likely be a lengthy process. On Tuesday, the libertarian-leaning Liberty Justice Center, which represented some of the original plaintiffs that were part of the Supreme Court decision, said it, along with co-counsel Neal Katyal, filed coordinated motions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as well as the U.S. Court of International trade, to help set in motion a process for refunds. A response from the government is due Friday.

“We are committed to transparency and will communicate clearly as additional direction becomes available from the U.S. government and the court,” FedEx’s statement said.

Mae Anderson, The Associated Press