A lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Seattle alleges that the e-commerce giant illegally obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in customs duties by inflating the prices of imported goods before the Supreme Court intervened, InvestingPro reported.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court found by a 6-to-3 majority that Trump had exceeded his executive authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose massive trade duties.
Although thousands of corporations have subsequently filed to recover billions of dollars in compensation from the federal government, the lawsuit claims that Amazon has categorically refrained from claiming its share.
According to the complaint, Amazon’s inaction is an elaborate political move designed to please the administration. The plaintiffs allege that Amazon is intentionally avoiding filing for a refund in order to gain Trump’s support by allowing the government to keep the money.
Unlike direct corporate importers, ordinary consumers are not legally allowed to seek customs duty refunds directly from the government, so the only way for them to recover funds is through a civil suit against retailers.
Amazon’s unjust enrichment
To support allegations of political motivation, the lawsuit cites an incident that occurred in April 2025. At that time, media reports that Amazon was considering implementing a feature that would allow it to accurately display how much of a product’s retail price was due to IEEPA tariffs prompted an immediate negative reaction from the White House.
The plaintiffs allege that Amazon is intentionally avoiding filing for refunds in order to gain Trump’s support, allowing the government to keep the money.
Unlike direct corporate importers, ordinary consumers are not legally allowed to seek customs duty refunds directly from the government, so the only way for them to recover funds is through a civil suit against retailers.
While Amazon denied the reports and clarified that it never planned to show detailed tariff information on its retail site, the lawsuit says the situation prompted Trump to call Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos directly to file the complaint.
