Consumers sue Amazon for not refunding Trump tariff costs
The lawsuit asserts claims of unjust enrichment and violation of Washington state’s consumer-protection law
Published Sat, May 16, 2026 · 12:57 PM
[BOSTON] Amazon.com was sued on Friday (May 15) by consumers seeking refunds for costs passed on to them in the form of higher prices as a result of tariffs the US Supreme Court later concluded had been unlawfully imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Consumers in a proposed class action filed in federal court in Seattle alleged that the e-commerce giant collected hundreds of millions of US dollars in unlawful tariff costs by raising prices on imported goods before the Supreme Court had ruled.
The US Supreme Court in February concluded in a 6-3 decision that Trump overstepped his authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (Ieepa) to impose his sweeping tariffs.
Thousands of companies have begun to seek billions of US dollars in refunds from the government following the ruling.
But Amazon has not, which the lawsuit alleged was “not because it lacks a legal basis to do so, but because it seeks to curry favour with Trump by allowing the federal government to retain the funds”.
“The problem is that the funds Amazon is using to stay in the president’s good graces do not belong to Amazon,” the lawsuit says. “These funds were wrongfully taken from consumers to cover Ieepa Tariffs that have since been invalidated.”
Navigate Asia in
a new global order
Get the insights delivered to your inbox.
The lawsuit asserts claims of unjust enrichment and violation of Washington state’s consumer-protection law.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit follows several earlier cases filed by consumers accusing companies ranging from Costco to Nike to FedEx of failing to pass on tariff refunds to consumers.
Unlike companies that imported goods, consumers are not eligible to seek tariff refunds from the government for the higher costs they incurred while they were in effect, on Friday’s lawsuit notes.
To support its claim that politics were behind Amazon’s actions, the lawsuit notes that in April 2025, the company faced White House blowback after a report that it was considering displaying how much of a product’s cost came from the Ieepa tariffs.
Amazon denied the story and said that it never considered listing tariff prices on its main retail site. But the report prompted Trump to call Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos to complain, the lawsuit says. REUTERS
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
