For some small businesses, a tariff refund isn't worth the pain of pursuing it

By Nicholas P. Brown and Tom Hals

NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - The day the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs that had cost Ian Rosenberger's backpack company Day Owl tens of thousands of dollars, friends started texting him their congratulations. He didn't share their elation.

"I don't see any possible way to get that money ‌back," said Rosenberger, whose Pittsburgh-based company, with just a few million dollars in sales, likely could not afford attorneys' fees.

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. "The number of conversations and analyses we've done ... the time suck on our team has been monumental," said Cassie Abel, CEO of Idaho-based outerwear company Wild Rye.

SMALL BUSINESSES PAID ONE-THIRD OF TARIFFS

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.

Some cash-strapped small businesses "will just have to eat the loss," said Oliver Dunford, an attorney at public interest law firm Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), who ⁠represented kids' clothing maker Princess Awesome, a lead plaintiff in the case against the tariffs.

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.