The American government must refund billions of dollars after the Supreme Court’s hammer ruling. It is still completely unclear how this process will work.
02/23/2026, 04:4502/23/2026, 06:27
Stöckli had a good nose. On Wednesday, two days before the landmark tariff ruling by the Supreme Court in Washington, the largest Swiss ski manufacturer sued the American government. In the 17-page lawsuit submitted to CH Media, the American Stöckli subsidiary demands a refund of the punitive tariffs – which was declared unlawful by the country’s highest court on Friday.
Stöckli CEO Marc Glasses wants money back from Trump.Image: keystone
Stöckli is therefore in a legal pole position in the race for the approximately $175 billion in customs revenue that Donald Trump’s government must now refund. As one of the few Swiss companies, as a search in the database of the US Court of International Trade in New York, which specializes in trade issues, shows.
Among the hundreds of refund lawsuits that were filed as a precautionary measure before the Supreme Court ruling, in addition to Stöckli’s submission, there are also lawsuits from the Swiss companies Logitech (IT), Jungbunzlauer (biotechnology), Sowind Group (watches) and CL International (luxury goods). The list is incomplete and only concerns cases pending before the Court of International Trade. Other Swiss companies such as luxury watchmaker Breitling and the chocolate maker have also announced they will seek refunds.
The amount in dispute of the lawsuits is not known
A look at the lawsuits from Stöckli, Logitech and the like shows: The submissions are largely similar. The lawyers hired accuse the customs authority CBP (Customs and Border Protection) of having collected punitive tariffs without a lawful basis during President Trump’s term in office. The companies now want this money back. The lawsuit documents are silent about the amount involved.
In the Stöckli case, the amount in dispute will certainly be hundreds of thousands of dollars. In an interview with the CH Media newspapers, managing director Marc Brille made the calculations in Decemberthat Stöckli sells around 15,000 skis in the USA every year. Under President Trump, the tariffs that Stöckli had to pay to the state treasury would have been between $80 and $180, said Glasses – although in addition to the punitive tariffs, there were also tariffs on steel and aluminum. These separate tariffs remain in effect after the Supreme Court ruling and will not be refunded.
The Trump administration has not yet announced how CBP will pay back the illegally confiscated money. On Friday, the customs authority reported that the effects of the Supreme Court ruling were still being clarified.
The companies and importers who have already sued have no guarantee that they will be given priority in the upcoming refund process. Their lawsuits are currently on hold because the commercial court in New York had to wait for the ruling from the highest court in the country. But lawyers who specialize in commercial law are convinced that those who have already argued in court that CBP owes them money will have the better cards in the coming fight for customs funds. (aargauerzeitung.ch)