Rivian Seeks Full Refund of Trump Tariffs Paid Under Unconstitutional Law

Rivian has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in an attempt to claw back a "full refund" on tariffs it paid under President Trump's "Liberation Day" taxes, which the Supreme Court later ruled unconstitutional.

Automaker Joins Long Line of Companies Seeking Tariff Refunds

Rivian's action comes as the company is in the middle of rolling out its first mass-market SUV, the R2. It expects to ship around 20,000-25,000 of them by the end of this year, and help the company finally reach profitability. Reaching that goal may not happen until 2028, though, as Rivian is plowing a lot of money into developing autonomous vehicles at the moment. The company recently sold shares to raise around $1.3 billion to help pad out its cash balance in the meantime.

In a statement to TechCrunch, CBP said that over $121 billion in both "potential and certified refunds have been accepted for processing."

Rivian's Lawsuit Aims to Guarantee Refund with Interest

According to Rivian's lawsuit, the company wants a guarantee that it will get its money — and the proper amount — back from the government. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in the U.S. Court of International Trade, names the U.S. government, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and its commissioner Rodney Scott as defendants. CBP collected the tariffs on behalf of the Trump administration, which tried to justify them under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

• The Cato Institute wrote that $71 billion had been paid out, which "suggests that frictions built into" the refund process created "obstacles for importers seeking refunds."
• Rivian did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Rivian's Impact from Tariffs

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told Reuters last year after the tariffs were imposed that he expected the cost of each vehicle to rise by "a couple of thousand dollars" as a result. By the end of 2025, he said the company had mitigated the impact to "low hundreds of dollars."

The resulting environment of retaliatory trade or other practices or additional trade restrictions or barriers has harmed, and could continue to harm, our ability to obtain necessary raw materials, components and equipment and could harm our ability to sell our products and services at prices customers are willing to pay.

Rivian's Request for Relief

Rivian is asking the trade court to declare the tariffs "contrary to law," issue a refund with interest, and pay any associated court fees.