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Rivian has filed a lawsuit<\/a> against the U.S. government in an attempt to claw back a \u201cfull refund\u201d on tariffs it paid under President Trump\u2019s \u201cLiberation Day\u201d taxes, which the Supreme Court later ruled unconstitutional.<\/p>\n The automaker joins a long line of companies<\/a> seeking such refunds. In April, Rivian CFO Claire McDonough said she expected the company stood to reap a refund in the \u201ctens of millions of dollars.\u201d <\/p>\n Rivian\u2019s 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<\/a>, 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<\/a> to help pad out its cash balance in the meantime.<\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n In a statement to TechCrunch, CBP said that over $121\u202f billion in both \u201cpotential and certified refunds have been accepted for processing\u202f.\u201d The agency did not comment specifically on the lawsuit.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the Cato Institute wrote<\/a> that $71 billion had been paid out, which \u201csuggests that\u00a0frictions built into\u201d the refund process created \u201cobstacles for importers seeking refunds.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Rivian\u2019s lawsuit, the company wants a guarantee that it will get its money \u2014 and the proper amount \u2014 back from the government. <\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the Supreme Court invalidated the tariffs, this separate action remains necessary because importers that have paid IEEPA tariffs, including Plaintiffs, are not guaranteed a refund of amounts previously paid based on the Supreme Court\u2019s decision,\u201d Rivian\u2019s lawyers wrote in the complaint. <\/p>\n Rivian did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told Reuters last year after the tariffs were imposed that he expected the cost of each vehicle to rise by \u201ca couple of thousand dollars\u201d as a result. By the end of 2025, he said the company had mitigated<\/a> the impact to \u201clow hundreds of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d the company wrote<\/a> in a regulatory filing earlier this year. <\/p>\n Rivian is asking the trade court to declare the tariffs \u201ccontrary to law,\u201d issue a refund with interest, and pay any associated court fees. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n