Matthew Stockov, a Costco member, bought food, electronics, household items, small appliances and hygiene products from Costco that were imported from other countries and sold at “inflated” prices to offset the tariffs, according to his suit filed Wednesday in Illinois federal court.

The lawsuit alleged Costco owes refunds, plus interest, to customers nationwide after the Supreme Court last month deemed Trump’s IEEPA tariffs – taxes placed on many foreign nations under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act – illegal.

A Costco shopper is suing the company for tariff refunds. dennizn – stock.adobe.com

“While the importer of record is the only party that may recover a refund from the government for an improperly assessed tariff, the importer is often nothing more than a pass-through vehicle,” the complaint said.

“The consumer, for all intents and purposes, pays the tariff. And yet, even when the Supreme Court strikes down an unlawful tariff, the truly injured parties possess no direct avenue for redress.”

Costco did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The wholesale retailer – which is among the hundreds of companies that last year sued the federal government for tariff refunds – has not promised any payback to customers.

During an earnings call last week, Costco CEO Ron Vachris said the company will instead “return this value to our members through lower prices and better values” if the company is awarded a tariff refund.

The lawsuit claimed this commitment was insufficient, arguing that a promise for possible value to an indeterminate group of future shoppers is not the same as a refund to past shoppers who were charged tariff-adjusted prices.

While the Supreme Court last month ruled that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs exceeded his presidential authority, it did not specify or mandate a path for refunds to importers, businesses or customers.

The Supreme Court last month overruled a batch of President Trump’s tariffs. Getty Images

The Court of International Trade has since ordered the federal government to return roughly $166 billion in tariff revenue, though it is unclear when or how the refunds will be issued.

A group of Democratic senators including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey last month pressed the Trump administration for a clear plan for tariff refunds.

While consumers are not expected to see tariff moolah, customers have sued several other companies for potential refunds, including from FedEx, United Parcel Service and eyeglass maker EssilorLuxottica.

Some of the firms – including FedEx – slapped specific tariff surcharges on their goods and services last year, so there’s a clearer potential path for issuing refunds.

“If refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges,” the shipping company said in a statement soon after the Supreme Court ruling tossed out the tariffs.

On the other hand, Costco and most other retailers have said they did not fully pass along the tariff costs on all items, raising prices here and there, instead – which makes it more difficult to track how much customers would be owed in refunds.

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Trump has promised to send the so-called “dividend” checks to low- and middle-income Americans using revenue from his sweeping expanse of tariffs. 

How much will the checks cost?

Dishing out $2,000 to most Americans would cost as much as $600 billion – twice the revenue expected from tariffs, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

President Trump has vowed to send $2,000 tariff “dividend” checks to most Americans by the 2026 midterms. Susan – stock.adobe.com

The steep tariffs Trump imposed in April – with a 10% baseline rate on all foreign countries – had raised $90 billion as of Sept. 30, according to data from US Customs and Border Patrol. He recently lifted tariffs for over 200 products as part of his push to make the cost of living more affordable.

That leaves a substantial gap in funding the checks, though Trump has promised not to pay for them with taxpayer dollars.

Trump says tariff revenues will increase

In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said tariff revenues will soon “skyrocket” – which could help pay for the checks.

Businesses rushed to stockpile inventory earlier this year ahead of the tariff deadlines so they could avoid paying the new import levies. But soon, warehouses will start to run out of this backstock, and companies will be forced to cough up the import fees in full, the president predicted.

Americans have thus not yet felt “the full benefit of the Tariffs,” he added.

How would the tariff ‘dividends’ be different from the COVID stimulus checks?

Trump has promised not to use taxpayer dollars to fund the checks. Scott Habermann – stock.adobe.com

The $2,000 tariff checks would not be the first such payments sent out by Trump.

In March 2020, he signed off on congressionally-approved COVID stimulus checks. 

Democrats campaigned on bringing more stimulus payments to Americans, with then-President Joe Biden doing so in 2021. Many economists blame those checks for helping to spike inflation, which ultimately tanked Biden’s approval ratings.

Republican lawmakers have raised concerns that Trump’s tariff dividends could have a similar effect on inflation, which is already heating up – hitting 3% in September, its fastest rate since January, according to the Consumer Price Index.

In March 2020, Trump signed off on congressionally-approved COVID stimulus checks.  Getty Images

In an attempt to curb inflationary effects, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged Americans to save the checks instead of spending them.

“Maybe we could persuade Americans to save that, because one of the things that’s going to happen next year is the Trump account[s]” designed to store savings for kids, he told Fox News last week.

Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is creating a new class of investment accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028 that will be seeded with $1,000 from the US Treasury.

About 40% of Trump’s 2020 stimulus payments were spent, while 30% were used to pay down debt and 30% were saved, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study.

Later stimulus payments were also mostly spent or used to pay down debt, according to the New York Fed.

joker123

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But privately, many left that night wondering if the president really knows the score.

Tax cuts, deregulation and drill-baby-drill can do wonders to jolt growth, they all agreed.

Tariffs, not so much.

The president’s proposed solutions, they believe, are destined to fall flat.

It’s not all doom-and-gloom, of course, but the US economy is a far cry from the Reagan years of massive growth and low inflation, nor is there much evidence it’s heading in that direction.

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The president also appears unaware that the country’s biggest economic problem is that of affordability.

This is not just when it comes to homes, but persistently high inflation that is stoking voter anxiety according to every poll available.

At the Wednesday dinner, Trump predicted GDP growth of 6%, nearly double what it’s growing now.

More people working helps address the affordability problem, he argued.

Higher tax revenues combined with tariffs will help pay down the budget deficit and lower costs even more.

No one at the table — among them JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and BlackRock’s Larry Fink — spoke up at dinner with an opposing view, I am told.

But privately, the attendees were far less sanguine.

Those I spoke to believe based on all the data available, 6% GDP is a pipe dream.

Tariffs will depress growth because less of our products will be sold overseas by countries that retaliate.

Plus, inflation appears to be growing, not subsiding, again thanks to tariff costs.

The affordability crisis is real and whatever Trump is doing isn’t working thus far or the GOP wouldn’t have lost all those races two weeks ago.

Or as one told me: “Trump has some smart economic advisers, but a lot of yes men who simply tell him what he wants to hear,” adding: “I hope he’s right about 6% economic growth because he will need it.”

Fears aren’t a ‘con job’

Then there’s the “solutions” to affordability issues Trump has come up with.

He’s been floating ways to make home ownership more affordable like a 50-year mortgage, even as he beats up Fed chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.

The CEOs offered up their own solutions — mainly how to get average people buying more stocks.

That could cover their retirement costs and make owning a home easier since stock returns, historically, have outpaced most other investments.

I am told that Trump’s advisers know things aren’t so great, but to warn Trump that what he’s doing isn’t working is the fastest way to lose your job.

And Trump, of course, wouldn’t be the first president to govern in a bubble. 

Joe Biden convinced himself that the border was secure, inflation was low and he was sentient enough to run for a second term.

I can see how it’s difficult for anyone close to Trump to lend credence to the notion of a “crisis” of affordability because it appears to support the left’s agenda.

But Trump has called it a Dem “con job” and recently told my Fox colleague Laura Ingraham that the public’s economic anxiety is “fake.”

That won’t make it go away.

It also robs us of a chance for a serious debate on how to fix this economy.

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Tax increase on MAGA

That debate, unfortunately, didn’t happen the other night with Trump, though several of the CEOs later told me the 50-year mortgage will raise home prices, not lower them, because people can borrow more and spread mortgage payments out further.

It’s also a slight of hand, of course, since borrowers will be paying the bank more interest over a longer period of time and accumulating less equity.

Ditto for Trump’s obsession with cutting rates to lower the cost of home ownership.

What he doesn’t seem to recognize is that inflation at 3% is still well above the “target” rate and that’s on top of the massive increases that Biden’s policies led to.

Gas prices are going down, eggs cost less, but other stuff is costing more.

The culprit seems to be his tariffs, lower than first pitched during “Liberation Day” but still adding to price pressures.

Pushing Powell to lower rates in the face of persistent inflation will only make matters worse; inflation is a tax increase on the working class where it is felt the strongest since they can’t speculate their way around it.

It is a tax increase on MAGA.

Again, Trump believes he will soon produce results that will make voters true believers: factory jobs will return, lower gas prices will stifle inflation, a 50-year mortgage will re-invigorate the American Dream.

The GOP will cruise to majorities in the upcoming congressional midterms based on a Reaganesque economic boom.

Like the CEO I interviewed, I hope he’s right.

The evidence is starting to suggest that he’s not.

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After selling more pickups and SUVs than expected in the third quarter, Ford’s automotive revenue hit $47.19 billion, beating estimates of $43.08 billion.

Trump took to social media to act as cheerleader-in-chief for Ford and General Motors — whose stock spiked more than 15% earlier this week — and to take a victory lap.

President Trump boasted about the strong week of earnings from American automakers. AFP via Getty Images

“Ford and General Motors UP BIG on Tariffs placed on Big and Midsized Trucks coming from other countries. Thank you President Trump!” he wrote in a Friday morning post on Truth Social.

Trump recently extended exemptions for US firms using imported auto parts and announced plans to slap fresh tariffs on foreign heavy-duty trucks to make American alternatives more competitive.

Top brass at Ford and GM lavished praise on the president this week as they slashed anticipated tariff costs.

“I’d like to thank President Trump and his team,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said during a call with analysts. 

His company slashed its expected tariff costs by $1 billion, down to about $2 billion.

Mary Barra, chief executive of GM, also thanked Trump earlier this week for “the important tariff updates.”

General Motors cut its projection for the levies’ impact by half a billion, to between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion.

Both Ford and GM reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates across the top and bottom lines. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Ford on Thursday reported adjusted earnings per share of 45 cents, above expectations of 36 cents.

“Our performance in the quarter shows that the Ford+ plan is delivering consistent improvement,” said Sherry House, Ford’s chief financial officer, referring to the company’s turnaround program. 

“Our underlying business becomes stronger, more efficient, more agile and increasingly durable.”

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However, the company was forced to cut its annual forecasts for this year due to a devastating fire at a New York plant, which will slow its production of heavy trucks and large SUVs – some of its top-selling and most profitable vehicles.

The fire at Novelis – an aluminum plant that is a major supplier for several US automakers – is expected to cost Ford between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, though it hopes to mitigate the damage by ramping up manufacturing of the impacted vehicles once supplies become available.

Part of this effort will include adding 1,000 workers next year to its facilities in Michigan and Kentucky. 

Trump recently extended exemptions for US automakers on foreign auto parts. Truth Social/realDonaldTrump

Ford’s new 2025 forecast includes adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $6 billion to $6.5 billion, down from $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion. 

If the fire had not occurred, Ford was planning to hike its annual forecast to more than $8 billion in adjusted EBIT, House said.

Shares in Ford jumped on Friday.

General Motors’ Tuesday stock surge marked the automaker’s best day since 2020 – and its second-best day since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.

It reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.80, above expectations of $2.31. Revenue reached $48.59 billion, beating estimates of $45.27.

“Thanks to the collective efforts of our team, and our compelling vehicle portfolio, GM delivered another very good quarter of earnings and free cash flow,” Barra said in a Tuesday letter to shareholders.

“Based on our performance, we are raising our full-year guidance, underscoring our confidence in the company’s trajectory.”

GM now expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $12 billion to $13 billion, up from $10 billion to $12.5 billion. 

Still, the company laid off more than 200 salaried employees on Friday. GM said most of the layoffs hit Computer-Aided Design, or CAD, engineers who worked at the automaker’s tech campus in Detroit.

General Motors hiked its annual forecast. Bloomberg via Getty Images

Also, the company’s adjusted results do not include $1.6 billion in losses related to planned changes in its electric vehicle rollout following the end of a federal tax credit and a slump in demand. 

GM’s net income attributable to stockholders was $1.3 billion in the third quarter – down 57% from about $3.1 billion a year earlier. Its net income margin dropped to 2.7%, down from 6.3% the same time last year.

Its North American business – which typically delivers the firm’s most substantial profits – showed signs it was struggling. 

It earned more than $2.5 billion in the third quarter. But its adjusted profit margin plunged 9.7% from a year earlier to 6.2%.

GM’s China operations helped offset the lower North American earnings.

Barra said the automaker’s “top priority” is returning to 8% to 10% adjusted profit margins in the North American market.

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Shares of the top U.S. electronics retailer fell 5.7% in morning trading, as investors focused on a likely hit to the company’s margins due to higher tariffs on U.S. imports.

Several retailers, including Best Buy, have had to raise prices on some goods to absorb the hit from these steep levies.

While Best Buy posted quarterly results that topped initial estimates, its annual sales and profit forecasts stayed put. Getty Images

Company executives said the price hikes were lower than the overall rate of tariffs, owing to its mitigation strategies.

Best Buy, which sources most of its goods from China, has also made efforts to diversify its supply chain and purchase more products from fewer partners to negotiate better terms in a bid to counter higher costs.

Meanwhile, the company’s sales have struggled over the past three years as price-sensitive shoppers put off big-ticket purchases.

CEO Corie Barry said customers had become more deal-focused and waited for shopping events such as Black Friday and back-to-school promotions, even though spending remained resilient.

“Big-ticket purchases are approached more carefully, though consumers continue to spend on expensive technology when there is a clear need or innovation,” Barry said on a post-earnings call.

Best Buy shares fell 5.7% this morning as the higher tariffs on U.S. imports have led to the electronics retailer taking a hit in its stock. Christopher Sadowski

On a media call with journalists, Barry said that the White House had been open to feedback from Corporate America on the impact of tariffs.

Strong sales of Nintendo Switch 2 gaming consoles, which were launched in June, and a surge in demand for artificial intelligence-powered laptops and mobile phones helped reverse a sales decline during the quarter.

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“Tariffs and a pullback in discretionary big-ticket categories remain a drag, and unlike general merchandise (retailers), Best Buy has limited fallback categories to absorb that pressure,” Emarketer analyst Suzy Davidkhanian said.

Comparable sales for the quarter ended August 2 rose 1.6%, the biggest increase in three years. Analysts on average had expected a 0.52% drop, according to data compiled by LSEG.

On an adjusted basis, it earned $1.28 per share, compared with the estimates of $1.21 per share.

The company expects comparable sales for fiscal year 2026 to range between a 1% drop and a 1% rise and an adjusted profit of between $6.15 and $6.30 per share.

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Businesses on both sides of the Pacific are waiting to see whether the world’s two largest economies can agree on a more durable deal or if global supply chains will again be upended by the reimposition of duties exceeding 100%.

Chinese producers, facing weak demand at home and harsher conditions in the United States, where they sell more than $400 billion worth of goods annually, are also hedging their bets and racing to grab market share in economies closer to home.

A container ship arrives at the port in Lianyungang, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on July 14, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

Customs data on Monday showed outbound shipments from China rose 5.8% year-on-year in June, beating a forecast 5.0% increase in a Reuters poll and May’s 4.8% growth.

“There are some signs that frontloading demand is beginning to wane gradually,” said Chim Lee, senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “While frontloading ahead of the August tariff pause deadline is likely to continue, freight rates for China-bound shipments to the US have started to decline.”

“Trade diversion and rerouting appear to be continuing, which will attract the attention of policymakers in the US and other markets,” he added.

Imports rebounded 1.1%, following a 3.4% decline in May. Economists had predicted a 1.3% rise.

The upbeat set of data helped lift market sentiment with the blue-chip CSI300 up 0.2% at the midday trading break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%, nearing its highest level since October.

Analysts and exporters are watching to see whether a deal agreed in June between US and Chinese negotiators will hold, after an earlier agreement reached in May was strained by a series of export controls that disrupted global supply chains for key industries.

President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. REUTERS

Exports to the US grew 32.4% month-on-month, with June the first full month of Chinese goods benefiting from reduced US tariffs, although year-on-year growth remained negative.

Meanwhile, outbound shipments to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations jumped 16.8%.

China’s June trade surplus came in at $114.7 billion, up from $103.22 billion in May.

China’s rare earths exports rose 32% in June from the month before, the customs data showed, in a sign that agreements struck last month to free up the flow of the metals were possibly bearing fruit.

President Trump arrives at the White House on July 13, 2025. ZUMAPRESS.com

But Chinese negotiators will struggle to talk the US into bringing tariffs down to levels that enable producers to turn a profit, analysts say, warning additional duties that exceed 35% will wipe out margins.

“Tariffs are likely to remain high and Chinese manufacturers face growing constraints on their ability to rapidly expand global market share by slashing prices,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.

“We therefore expect export growth to slow over the coming quarters, weighing on economic growth,” she added.

GLOBAL TRADE WAR

Beijing faces an August 12 deadline to reach a durable deal with the White House.

An employee works on a production line of tubular products for export at a factory in Lianyungang, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province on July 8, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

In the meantime, Trump continues to broaden his global trade offensive with new tariffs on other partners.

Analysts warn those measures could indirectly hurt Beijing by pressuring third countries used heavily for transshipments of Chinese goods.

Trump recently unveiled a 40% tariff on US-bound transshipments through Vietnam, a move that could undermine Chinese manufacturers looking to reroute shipments and avoid higher duties.

The US president has also threatened a 10% charge on imports from BRICS countries, in which China is a founding member, raising further risks for Beijing.

Backing its fellow BRICS member, China’s soybean imports in June hit a same-month record high, buoyed by a surge in purchases from top supplier Brazil to 9.73 million tons, which Trump has slapped with 50% tariffs. Imports of U.S. soybeans, meanwhile, were just 724,000 tons.

China’s crude oil imports rebounded last month and reached the highest daily rate since August 2023, after refineries from Saudi Arabia and Iran increased operations. Iron ore imports climbed 8% from May.

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Pakistan faces a potential 29% tariff on its exports to America because of a $3 billion trade surplus with the U.S., following the tariffs Trump announced last month against countries around the world.

Trump noted that he would have no interest in making a deal with Pakistan or its neighbor, India, if they were to reignite a war with each other.

The two countries were involved in a conflict for four days earlier this month, using fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery to conduct their worst fighting in decades.

“As you know, we’re very close to making a deal with India,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Friday after departing Air Force One.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal visited Washington recently to advance trade talks, with both sides seeking to sign an interim agreement by early July.

President Donald Trump said that Pakistani officials will visit the U.S. next week in order to negotiate lower tariffs imposed against the country. Bloomberg via Getty Images

Last month, Trump announced that multiple countries across the globe will face a potential 29% tariff on their exports to America because of a $3 billion trade surplus with the country. CTP – stock.adobe.com

Trump has imposed a 26% tariff on India’s shipments to the U.S.

India is likely to allow U.S. firms to bid for contracts worth over $50 billion, mainly from federal entities, as it negotiates a trade deal with the Trump administration.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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