About 2,000 companies, including FedEx, Costco, and L'Oreal, have sued for refunds in the U.S. Court of International Trade, with more litigants likely. The Supreme Court ruled on February 20 that the use of emergency tariffs exceeded President Donald Trump's authority, and many businesses are now girding for a months- to years-long fight to get their money back.

But numerous small company owners are coming to the conclusion that, while the ruling is a win on paper, recouping tariff expenses won't be easy - if it happens at all.

Lawyers and business owners interviewed by Reuters say suing for refunds would divert their time, money or both from the need to keep operations running.

Roughly 97% of U.S. importers are small businesses, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the tariffs they paid were a big headwind in 2025. Of the $175 billion in tariffs paid to the U.S. government, small businesses paid about $55 billion, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model.

For smaller companies grappling with renewed global uncertainty, the legal considerations represent an added cost that larger corporations need not worry about.

Even small businesses that can afford to litigate are taking a wait-and-see approach.

ECR4Kids, which makes child-focused fixtures and learning products like toy boxes and cubbies, has roughly $70 million in annual revenue. Still, for now, founder and managing partner Lee Siegel is holding off on litigation, citing a lack of clarity on the court process, and no guarantee of the outcome.

"I want to see when the dust settles in a few weeks," said Siegel, whose company has paid about $2 million in the since-rescinded tariffs.

Siegel wants to use refunds to lower prices on ECR4Kids' unsold U.S. inventory, so a long, expensive court process could render them less valuable. "The refund is important," he said, "but it's more important if it's done sooner, because it allows us to stabilize pricing."

Small business advocates say the government has the infrastructure to refund tariffs easily, and has done so before.

However, in a post-ruling press conference, Trump predicted "we'll end up being in court for the next five years" over refunds.

-Production: Arafat Barbakh, Nicholas P. Brown, Hanna Rantala/Reuters