TJ Walker reports that Costco has sued the Trump administration seeking refunds and an injunction against the new reciprocal and fentanyl tariffs, arguing the tariffs exceed presidential authority and are effectively taxes paid by U.S. consumers. He summarizes court developments (a federal appeals court found the administration exceeded its authority and justices appeared skeptical during Supreme Court arguments), describes the economic impact on consumers (tariffs passed through as higher prices), and frames the lawsuit as politically notable because a major retailer is publicly challenging the president.
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Costco takes Trump tariffs to court. According to cnbc, Costco is now suing the Trump administration to get back the money it's already paid under President Trump's new reciprocal and fentanyl tariffs and to stop those duties from continuing while the case heads to the Supreme Court. Costco says it faces a hard Dec. 15 deadline after that date. Even if the Supreme Court rules the tariffs were illegal, the company may never get refunded. As Costco put it, even importers are not guaranteed a refund without their own court judgment. A federal appeals court has already ruled that tax lacked the legal authority to impose these tariffs, saying that tariffs are a core congressional power. And during oral arguments in November, most Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of the administration's position. The White House insists the tariffs are lawful, warning of enormous economic consequences in if they're overturned. Okay, what's the real message here? You don't see Amazon or Jeff Bezos standing up to Donald Trump, but you do see Costco standing up to the president. Is this something new? Are big companies that have a big profile in the public's imagination ready to start saying the truth, which is a tariff is a tax and nobody's paying it except for you? I hope so. Let's dig a little bit deeper here into this situation. Some of the facts again. Costco's lawsuit exposes the legal fragility of Trump's tariff agenda. The courts have been very skeptical of his rationale. A little backdrop. The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to tax. A tariff is a tax. Now, the presidents do have certain emergency powers, but what's the emergency? Because on the one hand, Trump's saying the current US Economy is better than ever. On the other hand, he's saying we're in such dire straits that it's an emergency, that we have to impose these tariffs so quickly that Congress doesn't even have time to act. Well, those Two things are 100% inconsistent. And Costco has asked a federal judge to give 100% refund on all the tariffs paid so far. I can tell you I got a very hefty tariff bill, about $350. And again, I'm guilty of the same crime I'm accusing Democratic leaders of doing. You should never, ever refer to it as a tariff. It is a tariff tax. It is a Trump tariff tax. To be accurate about it, I had to pay a $350 Trump tariff tax because of a new table, a dining room table I just purchased. This was delivered from Europe. So this is affecting a lot of People. Now, it's not more important because it affects me, but chances are it is affecting you, either directly or or indirectly because the tax is passed on. The people in other countries are not paying these taxes. They're simply tacking it on to the price and you and I are paying for it. So when you are saying, gosh, it seems like I have a lot less money in my paycheck this month or my bank account and my income tax didn't go up, why is that? Well, other taxes went up. A tariff tax is a sales tax. It's a tax government taking money out of your pocket and putting it in their pocket. And look, there's times when we need taxes, but be honest with it. Be honest about it. If someone Democrat or Republican, says we need to raise income tax by 2%, they're being honest. You might not love it. I don't love seeing my taxes go up, but at least there's an honesty. This idea that, oh, tariffs aren't really taxes, wink, wink, and you're not really going to pay for it. Those foreigners are going to pay for it. Those people from the awful countries who are bad people, who we like to talk about as garbage, somehow they're all going to pay for it. It doesn't really add up. A reminder, the federal Appeals court ruled 7 to 4 that Trump exceeded his authority because Congress alone controls tariff powder. So I misspoke earlier. It's not just that Congress controls taxes and the ability to raise taxes. Congress actually has the power to, to install and impose tariffs, not the president. Dozens of companies have filed lawsuits. Of the ones who filed. Costco is certainly one of the biggest names out there because this is the kind of company that is very much susceptible to public pressure and shame. Because in the past, I mean, certainly a company like Amazon would be fearful of a negative tweet or a negative truth social from Trump condemning the company or urging his supporters not to shop there anymore. Now, Costco does have a demographic that is a little bit different than Amazon. I'm sure there's overlap. I use both, but it's a little bit different. So they may have put in some calculation that they would not lose that much if attacked by Trump. But I also think it's a sign that there are more people in our society, not just the Marjorie Taylor Greene, but others who are saying, maybe the emperor's wearing no clothes. Maybe in fact, and I do realize that's a horrible image when talking about this gentleman, but more and more people seem to be acknowledging that he's not perfect. Maybe some criticism is legitimate. Maybe we can criticize him. And the world doesn't end just because he says something nasty back. Let's hope so.
