Rivian has filed a lawsuit towards the U.S. authorities in an try and claw again a “full refund” on tariffs it paid beneath President Trump’s “Liberation Day” taxes, which the Supreme Court docket later dominated unconstitutional.
The automaker joins a long line of companies searching for such refunds. In April, Rivian CFO Claire McDonough stated she anticipated the corporate stood to reap a refund within the “tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.”
Rivian’s motion comes as the corporate is in the midst of rolling out its first mass-market SUV, the R2. It expects to ship round 20,000 to 25,000 of them by the top of this yr and assist the corporate lastly attain profitability. Reaching that purpose may not happen until 2028, although, as Rivian is presently plowing some huge cash into growing autonomous automobiles. The corporate not too long ago bought shares to raise around $1.3 billion to assist pad out its money steadiness within the meantime.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday within the U.S. Court docket of Worldwide Commerce, names the U.S. authorities, U.S. Customs and Border Safety (CBP), and CBP’s commissioner Rodney Scott as defendants. CBP collected the tariffs on behalf of the Trump administration, which tried to justify them beneath the Worldwide Emergency Financial Powers Act (IEEPA).
In a press release to TechCrunch, CBP stated that over $121 billion in each “potential and authorized refunds have been accepted for processing .” The company didn’t remark particularly on the lawsuit.
Earlier this month, the Cato Institute wrote that $71 billion had been paid out, which “means that frictions constructed into” the refund course of created “obstacles for importers searching for refunds.”
Based on Rivian’s lawsuit, the corporate desires a assure that it’s going to get its cash — and the correct quantity — again from the federal government.
“Though the Supreme Court docket invalidated the tariffs, this separate motion stays mandatory as a result of importers which have paid IEEPA tariffs, together with Plaintiffs, usually are not assured a refund of quantities beforehand paid based mostly on the Supreme Court docket’s choice,” Rivian’s legal professionals wrote within the grievance.
Rivian didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe advised Reuters final yr after the tariffs had been imposed that he anticipated the price of every car to rise by “a few thousand {dollars}” in consequence. By the top of 2025, he stated the corporate had mitigated the affect to “low a whole bunch of {dollars}.”
“The ensuing setting of retaliatory commerce or different practices or further commerce restrictions or boundaries has harmed, and will proceed to hurt, our skill to acquire mandatory uncooked supplies, parts and gear and will hurt our skill to promote our services at costs prospects are prepared to pay,” the corporate wrote in a regulatory submitting earlier this yr.
Rivian is asking the commerce courtroom to declare the tariffs “opposite to regulation,” concern a refund with curiosity, and pay any related courtroom charges.
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