Trump tariff fallout: Lawyers expect thousands of compensation cases
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
Thousands of companies are preparing to take on the Trump administration after suffering losses from tariffs that the Supreme Court of the US ruled unlawful on Friday, according to Reuters.
Lawyers say the number of refund claims has already surpassed 1,800 and could surge further following the justices’ decision to strike down the tariffs. Losses tied to the duties since April 2025 are estimated at roughly $175 billion in total.
“Litigation is expected to turn to the U.S. Court of International Trade, where companies have already hired an army of lawyers to help them recoup their tariff losses,” Reuters added.
Lawsuits could be filed in the coming weeks. However, the key question is whether the trade court has the authority to issue nationwide rulings in refund cases, said Julian Beach, an attorney at Pillsbury.
Another lawyer, Brian Janovitz, who also represents clients in these cases, said that even if the US government agrees that compensation is required, it remains unclear what the procedure would look like.
Companies involved in lawsuits
According to an analysis of court documents conducted by Reuters, the Washington-based law firm Crowell & Moring has filed at least 150 lawsuits in the trade court seeking compensation for damages.
These claims were filed on behalf of companies including Costco Wholesale Corporation, Revlon, Inc., and EssilorLuxottica (owner of the Ray-Ban brand).
Another major firm, Sidley Austin, has also been involved in more than 150 tariff-related cases since April, representing companies such as J. Crew, Illumina, Inc., Dole plc, and Diageo plc.
Among smaller firms handling dozens of cases is Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt, a trade-focused firm with about 40 lawyers that has filed more than 300 tariff lawsuits, representing luxury fashion brands such as Prada S.p.A. and Dolce & Gabbana S.r.l..
Cancellation of tariffs and introduction of new ones
On February 20, the Supreme Court of the US voted 6–3 to declare large-scale tariffs imposed by Donald Trump illegal. The court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority when introducing the tariffs, which had been in place since April 2025.
However, on the same day, US President Trump announced new 10% tariffs on all countries worldwide. The following day, on Saturday, he increased those tariffs to 15%.
