A Costco customer is suing the retailer, as part of a class action lawsuit that claims that shoppers are entitled to a cut of any tariff refund the retailer receives.

According to BBC News, the lawsuit filed by customer Matthew Sockov argues that if Costco were to get refunded for recently-nullified tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), it would benefit from a "double recovery," between the money it made from elevated pricing while the levies were in effect and any dollars it would get back from the government moving forward.

“Costco has made no commitment to return any portion of anticipated tariff refunds to the consumers who bore those costs,” the court filing reads.

Although Costco CEO Ron Vachris told shareholders in a March 5 call that the company plans to pass any potential tariff refund windfall down to its customers, Sockov labeled Vachris' statements as little more than "a promise of possible future benefit to an indeterminate group of future shoppers." The lawsuit also cited a Goldman Sachs report that found that consumers had shouldered more than two-thirds of President Donald Trump's tariff costs over the last year. 

The federal government collected around $175 billion worth of IEEPA tariffs through February 2025. Days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down those levies in late February, the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered the Trump administration to begin issuing refunds, while giving Customs and Border Protection 45 days to get an automated system in place.