Costco has stepped into court with a calculated move—one eye on the Supreme Court, the other on its bottom line. The retailer has sued the U.S. government, seeking a safety net should the nation’s highest court reject President Donald Trump’s push for broad tariff-setting authority.
Filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, the complaint zeroes in on a cloud of uncertainty created when tariffs were imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Costco argues that the maneuver has thrown into doubt whether companies can recover money they were never supposed to owe in the first place.
That uncertainty sharpened when U.S. Customs and Border Protection refused Costco’s request for extra time to finalize its tariff calculations—a denial the company says could jeopardize its ability to claim full refunds if Trump’s position collapses at the Supreme Court.
Costco isn’t alone on this legal battlefield. A wide cast of manufacturers, food brands, and consumer-product companies have already filed similar suits to preserve their chance at repayment. With more than $275 billion in annual revenue, Costco stands among the largest players to join the effort.
The tension stems from a key question now before the Supreme Court: Did Trump stretch a 1977 emergency-powers law beyond its limits when he used it to levy tariffs? Justices across the ideological spectrum grilled that very point during November 5 arguments. A ruling could drop at any time.
In the meantime, Costco has been busy reshaping its supply chain to blunt the impact—paring down suppliers, leaning harder on local sourcing, and boosting reliance on its in-house Kirkland label.
The legal dust may take a while to settle, but one thing is clear: Costco isn’t waiting around to see how the chips fall.
