When the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's emergency tariffs in February, thousands of companies filed for refunds on the import duties they'd paid. UPS, FedEx, and DHL said they'd pass their refunds to customers. Amazon, according to a class action lawsuit filed last week in Seattle, decided differently.
The suit, filed May 15 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, accuses Amazon of collecting "hundreds of millions of dollars" from consumers through inflated prices during the tariff period, and then declining to seek the government refunds it's legally entitled to. Amazon has not provided a public response to the lawsuit.
How the tariffs worked, and why this matters
The tariffs at issue were imposed starting in February 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, with average U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports eventually reaching 127.2%, according to the lawsuit. On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the IEEPA did not give the president authority to levy those tariffs. The decision left $133 billion in already-collected import taxes in limbo, according to NPR.
Under the refund process, only importers of record (the businesses legally responsible for goods when they crossed the border) can file claims with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Consumers cannot apply directly. That means if an importer collected higher prices to offset the tariff cost and then receives a government refund, the question of whether that money goes back to consumers is entirely at the company's discretion.
Amazon's position is complicated by its own marketplace structure. On its website, Amazon states it is not the importer of record for products sold by third-party sellers through Fulfillment by Amazon or Seller Fulfilled Prime, meaning it did not pay tariffs on those products and has no refund claim on them. For products Amazon sold directly to consumers, however, the lawsuit says Amazon is the importer of record and estimates those refunds could run into "hundreds of millions of dollars."
What Amazon did with prices during the tariff period
The lawsuit includes a specific data point on pricing: during the tariff period, Amazon raised prices on 1,200 low-cost goods by 5.2%, while Walmart cut prices on those same items by nearly 2%. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged in January 2026 that "you start to see some of the tariffs creep into some of the prices," telling CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos that sellers were weighing whether to absorb the added costs or pass them on.
In April 2025, Amazon reportedly planned to start displaying tariff costs as a separate line item on product listings. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called that plan "a hostile and political act," and President Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos directly to discuss the matter, according to CNN. After that call, a company spokesperson told CNN the move "was never a consideration for the main Amazon", only for its Haul spinoff site, which sells items under $20.
The lawsuit draws a direct line between that episode and Amazon's decision not to file for refunds. "Amazon has not returned any portion of those costs it passed on to consumers, and it has no intention of doing so," the complaint states. "It has, in short, generated and retained a windfall from unlawful government action, and consumers – not Amazon – are the ones left paying for it."
Amazon isn't alone in its approach. Apple has also reportedly declined to file for refunds to avoid political friction with the administration, according to CNBC reporting. Walmart faces its own class action, filed April 27, alleging it both passed tariff costs to shoppers and is separately poised to recover an estimated $10.2 billion in government refunds, which plaintiffs in that case call a double recovery.
What this means if you shopped on Amazon
For now, there's no claim form to file and no refund process open to consumers. The lawsuit is in its earliest stages; it seeks recovery of tariff-related overcharges and brings claims of unjust enrichment and violations of Washington state consumer-protection law.
If you bought imported goods directly from Amazon (sold by Amazon, not a third-party seller) between February 2025 and February 2026, you may be part of the proposed class. Information on the case is available at hbsslaw.com.
Read next: How to reach Amazon customer service: A complete guide
[Image credit: Amazon]
