Costco suit demands U.S. pause tariffs, provide refund

Costco is suing the Trump administration, seeking a full refund of the import taxes it paid under President Trump’s executive orders earlier this year.

- BY NILESH CHRISTOPHER

DAVID PAUL MORRIS Bloomberg

IMPORTS constitute about a third of Costco's U.S. sales. China, Canada and Mexico are major sources.

The discount retailer, a big importer, wants the U.S. government to stop imposing tariffs on goods Costco brings into the country until the Supreme Court weighs in on the legality of executive orders.

According to the lawsuit filed Friday with the United States Court of International Trade, Costco wants the court to declare that the president lacks authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to set tariffs, and has challenged the tariff orders as unlawful.

Tariffs are taxes imposed on imported goods. Traditionally, tariffs are levied after getting congressional approval, but in February, Trump invoked a 1977 “national emergency” law used for sanctions to issue global tariff orders, bypassing the traditional process.

The Supreme Court is now deliberating the legality of the tariff orders.