FedEx, UPS, DHL Begin U.S. Tariff Refunds; Details on How to Claim Funds

FedEx, UPS, and DHL are now returning tariff refunds received from the U.S. government to their customers. This action follows a February 20 Supreme Court decision that deemed President Trump's initial tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, unlawful.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has already refunded approximately $100 billion to businesses that initially paid the tariffs. However, direct refunds to consumers are not universal. Many tariffs were indirectly passed on to consumers through increased product prices, making it difficult for them to reclaim these costs.

The primary beneficiaries of direct refunds are customers who paid tariffs directly to logistics providers like FedEx, UPS, and DHL. FedEx has begun returning about $800 million to eligible customers, who can check online using their tracking numbers. UPS expects customers to receive refunds within one to three months after the company receives its own $500 million refund from the government.

DHL has also applied for refunds on behalf of customers for nearly all eligible shipments where DHL acted as the "registered importer." The speed and amount of these refunds depend on the processing pace of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Consumers who purchased overseas goods where retailers included tariffs in the product price may not receive direct refunds. Some consumers are pursuing class-action lawsuits against retailers like Costco and Amazon, seeking to recover indirect tariff payments, though these suits face significant legal challenges.

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Most lawsuits just talk about price increases, but it will be very difficult to clearly trace a price increase to a single factor when most companies use multiple factors for pricing.