FedEx sued the U.S. government Monday, seeking a full refund of tariffs assessed under President Donald Trump’s order targeting imports.

The lawsuit is one of the highest-profile moves by a major American company following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling Friday, which determined that the president did not have the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose such tariffs.

The complaint, filed against the government and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Court of International Trade, alleges FedEx incurred costs to expedite shipments through customs and is entitled to a refund of duties with interest, as well as compensation for the financial harm it suffered.

“Plaintiffs seek for themselves a full refund from Defendants of all IEEPA duties Plaintiffs have paid to the United States,” FedEx said in the lawsuit.

SUPREME COURT DEALS BLOW TO TRUMP’S TRADE AGENDA IN LANDMARK TARIFF CASE

The lawsuit does not disclose how much FedEx has paid in tariffs.  (FedEx)

“Supporting our customers as they navigate regulatory changes remains our priority,” the company told FOX Business. 

“FedEx has taken necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record to seek duty refunds from U.S. Customs and Border Protection following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that the tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unlawful.”

The lawsuit does not disclose how much FedEx has paid in tariffs. However, in September, the shipping giant said it expected a $1 billion hit to fiscal-year earnings from U.S. trade policies, only part of which involved IEEPA duties. 

US TARIFF REVENUE UP 300% UNDER TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT BATTLE LOOMS

FedEx sued the U.S. government, seeking a full refund of tariffs assessed under President Donald Trump’s emergency order targeting imports. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“While the Supreme Court did not address the issue of refunds, FedEx has taken necessary action to protect the company’s rights as an importer of record to seek duty refunds from U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” the company said on its website. 

“At this time, however, no refund process has been established by regulators or the courts,” it added. “We will communicate any relevant information and updates in a timely manner, and we appreciate your patience as we wait for additional guidance and clarity from the U.S. government and the courts.”

The suit names CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott and the U.S. as defendants.

FedEx is represented by Washington, D.C.–based Crowell & Moring, which also represents Costco and Revlon in IEEPA tariff refund cases filed before the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday.

WILL REFUNDS BE ISSUED AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING ON TRUMP TARIFFS?

In February 2025, Donald Trump invoked the IEEPA to impose duties on imports from China, Canada and Mexico, citing national security concerns and unfair trade practices. Then in April, he expanded the measures into reciprocal tariffs targeting 57 countries.

In effect, U.S. businesses and consumers paid more than $175 billion in duties. 

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize Trump to impose tariffs, confirming that the Court of International Trade has exclusive jurisdiction over the IEEPA tariffs.

FedEx alleges it incurred costs to expedite shipments through customs and is entitled to a refund of duties with interest. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images / Getty Images)

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

While CBP continued collecting the duties during the pending litigation, it announced that IEEPA duty collection would cease Tuesday.

The White House and CBP did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

Edited excerpts from a chat:

How are you reading the current equity market construct following the 1.5 year-long consolidation phase? Is the time correction done or do you see risks of a deeper time correction given valuations and liquidity dynamics?
The Indian equity market has navigated a 1.5-year consolidation since late 2024, with the Nifty 500 correcting 15% from its September 2024 peak to its March 2025 trough, addressing sluggish earnings and global uncertainties like anticipated tariffs from the US. The breadth of the market was quite weak. While the index fell 15% during this period, more than one-third of the stocks fell by over 25%. India’s economic deceleration is impossible to ignore. GST collections have grown in single digits year-on-year for eight consecutive months, while nominal GDP and Nifty 50 earnings have similarly languished in single-digit territory—the latter for seven straight quarters. These aren’t fleeting data blips; they represent a genuine cyclical slowdown that has rattled investor confidence.

Live Events

Both the government and the RBI have responded with unprecedented vigour. Direct tax cuts and targeted GST reductions are putting money back into consumer pockets, while fiscal discipline ensures macro stability.
Simultaneously, the RBI has delivered record-low policy rates and reduced the CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio), flooding the system with liquidity while keeping inflation firmly in check. This coordinated fiscal-monetary push creates powerful conditions for recovery, with typical policy lags suggesting the impact should materialise in the coming quarters.
More compelling is the valuation reset. Indian equities have underperformed emerging markets and global indices by over 2,000 basis points in the past 12-15 months—a staggering divergence that is virtually unprecedented. This correction has eliminated the valuation excess that built up during the bull run, creating asymmetric risk-reward dynamics.
When policy support aligns with compressed valuations and extreme underperformance, mean reversion becomes highly probable. India’s structural growth drivers—favourable demographics, ongoing urbanisation, and digital penetration—remain intact, in our view. The slowdown is real, but likely temporary.

We believe the bulk of price and time correction is over. Markets may begin to perform better as growth picks up.

From a sectoral standpoint, which themes are demonstrating durable earnings momentum, and where do you see the next leg of leadership emerging?
While the broader market may digest the growth slowdown, pockets of genuine earnings momentum are emerging—and they’re likely to define the next phase of market leadership.

Precious and Non-Ferrous Metals stand out as structural beneficiaries of two powerful tailwinds, in our view. The de-dollarisation trend, accelerated by geopolitical fragmentation, is driving central banks globally to accumulate gold and diversify reserves – The Central Banks’ holdings of gold in their forex reserves have surpassed those of US Treasuries for the first time in nearly 30 years. Simultaneously, the AI infrastructure boom requires enormous quantities of silver (this is expected to be the sixth straight year of deficit), copper (current and expected new capacities are unlikely to meet more than 70% of demand over the next 10 years), aluminium, and specialised metals for data centres, semiconductors, and power generation systems. We believe metals are benefiting from a multi-year capex and electrification cycle, rather than a purely cyclical rebound.

Capital Market Plays—exchanges, brokers, wealth managers, and asset managers—represent one of the clearer secular growth trends in India. Retail investor participation continues to deepen, with mutual fund SIPs hitting record levels month after month, as Indian household savings shift from physical assets to financial instruments.

The earnings visibility for quality franchises in this space remains favourable, with operating leverage intact and regulatory tailwinds supporting growth.

PSU and Regional Private Banks offer compelling value as a turnaround story reaches maturity. PSU bank net NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) have improved dramatically, with significant improvement in asset quality, narrowing the gap with private peers, a transformation few anticipated a couple of years ago. Yet valuations remain at significant discounts, creating unusual risk-reward dynamics. Regional private banks, meanwhile, are gaining share in underbanked markets with intact NIMs (Net Interest Margins) and disciplined credit growth.

Do you think gold has topped out in the near term and that silver is best avoided at this point?
Gold is a precious metal that has long served as a store of value. In a highly leveraged world, where even government balance sheets are significantly levered, confidence in fiat currencies is taking a knock. Over the last 25 years, while US GDP has become 3x, its debt has grown over 6x – hence, the incremental Debt/GDP in the last 25 years has been over 200%.

In the last two centuries, whenever a country’s Debt/GDP crossed 120%, it had a high probability of defaulting over the next few years. The US is at 125% now.

As a result, the central bankers of the world are slowly, but more importantly, steadily, increasing their exposure to gold. Now, their holdings of gold have surpassed those of US Treasuries for the first time in nearly 30 years – this speaks volumes.

India’s holdings of long-term US Treasuries have dropped to $174 billion (as of Dec 2025), down 26% from a 2023 peak, and now account for one-third of the nation’s foreign exchange assets. Gold in India’s forex reserves now stands at $107 billion. US Treasuries holdings to gold holdings ratio was 5.2x in May 2023, now it is 1.6x – a clear diversification.

With regard to silver, it has a dual role – both as a monetary asset and for industrial usage. As a monetary asset, its value is pegged to gold. Silver’s unique property is that it is the best conductor of electricity. The world’s demand for electricity is rising, driven by AI, data centres, renewable energy, grid modernisation, EVs etc. Silver has been in deficit for the last five years and the demand is only rising at a rapid pace. Moreover, the inventories are at record lows.

We are bullish on both gold and silver.

What should investors think about asset allocation at this juncture? Does the risk-reward favour incremental equity exposure, or a more diversified stance across asset classes?
The question of asset allocation has never been more critical—or more complex. We’re operating in a fundamentally unique regime compared to the one that prevailed over the past decade.

We remain constructive on equities and precious metals. Specific equity sectors may offer durable earnings momentum, while precious metals may benefit structurally from de-dollarisation and AI-driven demand. The valuation reset in Indian equities, combined with policy support, may create an attractive risk-reward for patient capital.

However—and this is crucial—we’re navigating a world grappling with an emerging new order, elevated debt burdens across developed economies, subdued growth, and persistent geopolitical tensions. Volatility is likely to remain structurally higher, with sharper drawdowns and more frequent dislocations, and this reality demands a more diversified stance. Precious metals aren’t just a tactical play; they offer a degree of resilience amid concerns around currency stability and geopolitical risk.

The opportunity in equities is real, but so is the volatility ahead.

It is advisable to work with a qualified investment advisor or financial planner who can calibrate exposure to your specific circumstances—your time horizon, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, and tax situation all matter significantly.

The pain in IT stocks isn’t ending amid all the negative newsflow around the potential impact of AI. How serious is the threat for a long-term investor who comes with a 4-5 year horizon?
The Nifty IT Index trades at an eight-year low relative to the Nifty 500—a valuation discount that’s drawing attention from contrarian investors. But before rushing into what appears less expensive, long-term investors may have to confront uncomfortable realities about this sector’s trajectory.

The weakness predates AI anxiety. Over the last 3, 5, and 10 years, the IT sector’s earnings growth has remained in single digits or barely scraped into double-digits. This isn’t a temporary disruption, in our view; it’s sustained underperformance reflecting genuine business model pressures—commoditisation of services, pricing pressure, and sluggish demand from key Western markets.

Now layer on AI disruption, which is very real. Generative AI isn’t just another technology shift; it threatens to fundamentally alter how code is written, tested, and maintained. The labour arbitrage model that powered Indian IT’s rise faces structural obsolescence as AI tools enable clients to accomplish more with fewer engineers.

This combination—already anaemic growth now facing additional headwinds—suggests that the earnings trajectory could deteriorate further rather than stabilise. While they may offer high dividend yields, attractive free cash flow yields, and elevated payout ratios, these metrics are backward-looking. If growth erodes further, cash generation suffers, and those compelling yields may become unsustainable.

The valuation discount exists for a reason. Until Indian IT companies demonstrate concrete strategies to reinvent themselves—pivoting to AI enablement rather than displacement, moving up the value chain, or achieving genuine cost transformation, the risk-reward may remain unfavourable even on a 4-5-year horizon, in our view.

How do you assess Q3 earnings trends so far, and what would you need to see in Q4 numbers to sustain market momentum?
The Q3FY26 earnings season delivered a tale of two markets—one that’s encouraging beneath the surface, and another that continues to be weak at the index level.

Corporate India delivered its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth, with impressive participation: 19 of the 27 sectors in the Nifty 500 posted double-digit growth. This breadth matters enormously—it signals the earnings recovery isn’t confined to a handful of winners but is spreading across the economy.

Metals led the charge, with profits surging 33% year-on-year, benefiting from improved realisations and operational leverage. Oil & Gas, particularly OMCs (oil marketing companies), saw profits jump 2.4x as refining margins normalised and inventory gains materialised.

On the other hand, the Nifty 50 delivered just 7% PAT growth—its seventh consecutive quarter of single-digit earnings expansion. This disconnect between broad market strength and benchmark weakness reflects composition effects. The Nifty 50’s heavy weightings in IT, certain consumer segments, and select financial names that are struggling have masked the improving momentum elsewhere.

For markets to sustain momentum in Q4FY26, two factors would be crucial, according to us. First, sectoral breadth must hold—confirmation that 15-20 sectors can sustain double-digit growth may support the durability of the recovery. Second, stability in Nifty 50 heavyweights would be constructive.

Are we finally going to see smallcaps rallying once again in FY27?
The Nifty Smallcap 250 Index has been underperforming since September 2024. While the main indices like Nifty 50 & BSE 500 have traded largely flat, the Nifty Smallcap 250 Index is down 8%.

This correction has done important work in purging valuation excess. The high multiples that characterised pockets of the smallcap universe through mid-2024 have compressed. However, excesses still persist in certain corners—particularly in momentum names where narratives have outpaced fundamentals.

The path to sustained smallcap participation in FY27 runs through macro recovery. As overall earnings growth accelerates, smallcaps typically exhibit higher beta to the cycle. Their operating leverage, when growth returns, may drive disproportionate earnings surprises that may rerate valuations quickly.

The Foreign Workers’ Management Policy Committee has approved a deadline extension to March 31, 2026, for over 300,000 migrant workers to complete work permit requirements, preventing labor disruptions.

Key Points

• The Foreign Workers’ Management Policy Committee approved an extension for over 300,000 migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam to fulfill work permit requirements, aiming to maintain labor stability and prevent disruptions.
• Key deadlines have been adjusted, moving the original completion date from February 24, 2026, to March 31, 2026. This extension covers essential submissions like health insurance documents and a 900-baht work permit fee.
• With 375,038 out of 890,786 workers yet to comply, the extension is crucial to avoid status loss and potential workforce shortages. The Labour Minister has instructed the Department of Employment to expedite measures for affected workers and ensure economic stability.

The Foreign Workers’ Management Policy Committee has approved an extension for migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam to complete work permit requirements, covering more than 300,000 individuals. The measure will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval to prevent labor disruptions and protect production stability.

The extension covers the submission of health insurance documents and medical examination results, as well as the payment of the 900-baht work permit fee. The original deadline of February 24, 2026, has been moved to March 31, 2026, allowing eligible workers additional time to comply and remain in the legal employment system.

Data presented at the meeting showed that 375,038 workers out of a total of 890,786 have not yet completed the required procedures. Without the extension, many could lose their status, limiting employers’ ability to hire them legally and increasing the risk of workforce shortages in key industries.

Labour Minister Treenuch Thienthong has directed the Department of Employment to expedite drafting a ministerial notification granting special permission for affected workers in line with the earlier Cabinet resolution. The ministry will forward the committee’s decision to the Cabinet to ensure continuity in the labor market and reduce potential economic impact.

Source : Work Permit Deadline Extended for 300,000 Migrant Workers

Other People are Reading

In recent weeks, prior to the decision release on Friday, hundreds of firms, including cosmetics company Revlon, aluminium giant Alcoa and food importers like tuna fish brand Bumble Bee, filed lawsuits contesting the tariffs, in a bid to get in line for a refund.