US Politics
Peloton becomes the latest business to sue the US government over tariffs
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Exercise equipment maker Peloton has become the latest business to sue the government over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Shortly after returning to the White House last year, Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods.
In April, Trump announced a baseline 10 percent tariff on goods from all countries, with some facing higher tariffs. The United States and China got into a trade war that has since subsided. Last May, the U.S. announced it would reduce a 145 percent levy on Chinese goods to 30 percent.
Peloton and its commercial equipment arm, Precor, import goods from China, Mexico and other countries hit by the tariffs. They are now suing the United States, along with Customs and Border Protection and its commissioner, Rodney S. Scott, for a refund of the tariffs they have paid, according to Athletech News.
Peloton and Precor argued in the complaint filed earlier this month that Trump did not have the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose such levies.
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When announcing Trump’s sweeping tariffs in April, the White House said the president invoked his authority under the IEEPA “to address the national emergency posed by the large and persistent trade deficit.”
He also invoked the law to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China last February, arguing that the flow of undocumented migrants and illegal drugs into the U.S border constitutes a national emergency.
The Supreme Court is considering whether Trump had the authority to impose his tariffs under the IEEPA, which allows the president to regulate trade in “unusual and extraordinary” circumstances.
“Even if the Supreme Court holds the tariffs at issue to be unlawful, that will not necessarily ensure a remedy for importers such as Plaintiffs who will have paid significant tariffs unlawfully collected by the government,” Peloton and Precor wrote in the lawsuit.
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More than 1,000 companies sued for refunds on levies they have paid after a Supreme Court hearing in November 2025, where justices appeared skeptical of Trump’s tariffs, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.
If the Supreme Court decides the tariffs are unlawful, the question of whether companies will receive refunds will likely fall on the lower courts.
The Justice Department has declined to comment on the Peloton and Precor lawsuit. The Independent has also reached out to Peloton and Customs and Border Protection.
