Rivian sues US government for ‘full recovery’ of Trump’s tariffs

Rivian has filed a lawsuit against the US government in an attempt to recover a “full refund” on the tariffs it paid under President Trump’s “Emancipation Day” taxes, which the Supreme Court later ruled were unconstitutional.

The automaker joins a long line of companies seeking such refunds. In April, Rivian’s chief financial officer, Clare McDonough, said she expected the company to earn a recovery worth “tens of millions of dollars.”

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 about 20,000 to 25,000 of them by the end of this year, eventually helping the company achieve profitability. However, this goal may not be achieved until 2028, as Rivian is investing a lot of money in developing autonomous vehicles at the moment. The company recently sold shares to raise about $1.3 billion to help cover its cash balance in the meantime.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of International Trade names the U.S. government, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its Commissioner Rodney Scott as defendants. CBP collected the tariffs on behalf of the Trump administration, which it attempted to justify under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

In a statement to TechCrunch, CBP said more than $121 billion in potential and approved refunds have been accepted for processing. The agency did not comment specifically on the lawsuit.

Earlier this month, the Cato Institute wrote that $71 billion had been paid, which “suggests that the frictions built into” the refund process have created “obstacles for importers seeking refunds.”

According to Rivian’s lawsuit, the company wants assurance that it will get its money — and the right amount — from the government.

“Although the Supreme Court invalidated the tariffs, this separate action remains necessary because importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, including Plaintiffs, are not guaranteed refunds of amounts previously paid based on the Supreme Court’s decision,” Rivian’s lawyers wrote in the complaint.

Rivian did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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

“The environment resulting from retaliatory trading or other practices, restrictions or additional trade 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 that customers are willing to pay,” the company wrote in a regulatory filing earlier this year.

Rivian is asking the commercial court to declare the tariffs “in violation of the law,” refund the money with interest, and pay any associated court fees.