FedEx Moves to Recoup Tariffs, Says Shippers Would Get Money Back

FedEx Moves to Recoup Tariffs, Says Shippers Would Get Money Back Sourcing Journal · Kevin Carter via Getty Images Glenn Taylor Sat, February 28, 2026 at 2:35 AM GMT+8 4 min read In this article:

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FedEx says it plans on issuing refunds to shippers and end consumers if a federal court orders the Trump administration to repay money collected from its many of its sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners since last April.

On Monday, the logistics giant sued the federal government and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for a full refund of the tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which were struck down by the Supreme Court on Feb. 20.

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The nation’s highest court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his powers in imposing the emergency tariffs, upholding lower court rulings and deeming them unlawful. But the Supreme Court judges were mum on the prospect of refunds, leaving many questions unanswered and putting the onus on the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) to resolve any ensuing legal matters.

More than 2,000 companies have filed suit in the CIT in efforts to recoup costs from the illegal tariffs, including retail giants Costco and Dollar General, as well as fashion brands J.Crew and Prada and footwear sellers On Holdings and Skechers.

“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.”

In the hours after FedEx filed the complaint, the courier called the decision a “necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record.”

“Supporting our customers as they navigate regulatory changes remains our priority,” a FedEx spokesperson said on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said FedEx should explain how it will pass along any tariff rebates to customers in an interview with NBC News late Tuesday.

During the interview, Bessent cited that he found FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam’s role as chair of the U.S.-China Business Council “very interesting because China is the largest payer of U.S. tariffs,” without elaborating. A New York Federal Reserve report published earlier in February said 90 percent of the tariffs imposed on imports are paid for by U.S. consumers and businesses.

Bessent said the administration would follow the ruling of the lower court if it ruled it had to distribute refunds. But it’s still unclear when the administration will return the estimated $175 billion collected since the IEEPA tariffs were first imposed, or how long such a process could take.

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Two dozen Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), sent a letter Friday to Secretary Bessent demanding that tariff refunds begin immediately.

The lawmakers took issue with prior comments from Bessent for saying “the American people won’t see” the billions of dollars in tariff revenue collected from them in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling.

“The American people—small business owners, importers, manufacturers and the consumers who ultimately bore the cost of these illegal taxes—deserve better than this stonewalling,” the letter wrote. “This money does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the businesses and individuals you illegally taxed.”

FedEx called its suit a procedural step to protect its customers, shareholders and the company, noting that the CIT’s ruling made clear that companies must file suit to seek reliquidation and a refund if the Supreme Court deemed the tariffs unlawful.

As FedEx looks to give its make its consumers whole, Flexport is leveraging agentic AI to help its client shippers prepare for potential refunds.

The digital freight forward launched an AI agent built to conduct an audit on all past customs entries to identify mistakes and compliance errors, as well as pinpoint entries where duties might have been over or underpaid.

Ryan Petersen, founder and CEO of Flexport, said the company first piloted the agent, called “Audit Your Customs Broker,” on its own entries.

“We have reduced our error rate on U.S. customs filings to 0.2 percent,” said Petersen.

Complementing the offering, Flexport launched a tariff refund calculator in January to help companies estimate their potential IEEPA refunds ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. With the high court ruling against the tariffs, Flexport updated the refund calculator to prepare customers for potential claims.

Coupled with the AI auditor, Flexport says the calculator can instantly audit past entries for errors, file corrections, then estimate and prepare for potential refunds.

The launches were part of Flexport’s 2026 winter product release revealed Thursday, with the company also launching an AI agent for freight container optimization, a real-time AI language translator, along with Flexport Atlas, an interactive map that shows how container ships moves across oceans in real time.

With Atlas, users can track vessels, aircraft and ports with live data updated every two hours, including precise vessel statuses (moored, at anchor or in-transit) and port dwell times.

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