Amazon is being sued for not handing customers back the money they paid in tariff costs, which the Supreme Court ruled illegal in a February 2026 decision.
The proposed class action was filed recently in federal court in Seattle. The complaint accuses Amazon of pocketing “hundreds of millions of dollars in unlawful tariff costs” that it passed onto shoppers through higher prices.
The backstory
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s sweeping tariff policy imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The decision was narrow in scope, focusing on the limits of presidential authority under IEEPA, and did not invalidate all tariffs; for example, certain tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 remain in place.
The ruling also opened a path for businesses that paid the invalidated IEEPA tariffs to recover the money through restitution claims against the federal government. Several companies have already begun receiving refunds from the federal government, per CNBC reporting last week.
To that effect, three big names in shipping, DHL, FedEx, and UPS, have all kicked off the refund process and intend to return the money to the customers they hit with tariff charges.
Nintendo took a markedly different path, suing the U.S. government over the tariffs it paid to import its products across the border. Per the lawsuit, Amazon has done neither.
The core accusation
According to the complaint, Amazon isn’t pursuing the refund because it wants to “curry favor with Trump by allowing the federal government to retain the funds.” In plain terms, the company is leaving the money on the table with Washington while holding onto the higher prices it collected from shoppers.
“Amazon has not returned any portion of those costs it passed on to consumers, and it has no intention of doing so,” the lawsuit reads. “It has, in short, generated and retained a windfall from unlawful government action, and consumers — not Amazon — are the ones left paying for it.”
According to the plaintiffs, Amazon has every right under the ruling to claw the money back, and customers should get their share once that happens.
The lawsuit is still in the opening rounds, with big procedural questions remaining wide open. Class certification, damages, and the actual mechanics of how a refund would reach customers if a court orders Amazon to issue one. None of those has a clear answer yet. The Supreme Court decision created a route for companies to recover tariff money. The lawsuit is now testing whether they have to take it.
Sources: Hagens Berman, Reuters, Supreme Court Opinion, Engadget