April 28 (Reuters) – Parcel delivery giants FedEx and UPS said on Tuesday they would return any tariff refunds to customers as the U.S. government begins to return the illegally collected levies.
Thousands of companies rushed to file claims after a refund system that was set up to allow companies to recover tariffs from the U.S. government went live last week.
The U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down the tariffs President Donald Trump pursued under a law meant for use in national emergencies, handing the Republican president a stinging defeat.
About $166 billion in U.S. tariff collections are subject to potential refunds. The Trump administration’s tariffs had upended global trade through 2025 and impacted the earnings of a wide range of companies, including logistics providers.
UPS CEO Carol Tome said in a post-earnings investor call that the company had collected about $5 billion worth of tariffs from its customers.
“We are working with the Customs Border Protection to apply for those refunds. Our approach is to work with the U.S. government and not to sue the U.S. government,” Tome said, referring to rival FedEx’s February lawsuit.
“We think it’s going to take some time before the Treasury remits money to us, but as soon as we get that money, we’re going to remit it right back to our customers,” she added.
FedEx, too, said it would issue refunds to customers “as soon as it begins receiving refunds from CBP.”
(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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