Mercedes Eyeing a Lawsuit Against the US Government

Mercedes-Benz is considering filing a lawsuit against the United States government to recoup some of the money it paid out in tariffs as part of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) scheme by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs on February 20, 2026, in a 6-3 decision.
“We are considering it. We have not filed anything yet,” Jason Hoff, CEO of Mercedes-Benz North America, told Newsweek.
While Mercedes has not filed a lawsuit, a number of companies have. Ahead of the ruling, the government collected $133 billion in tariffs.
Even before the ruling came down, more than 1,000 companies filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in an effort to get their money back, including Costco, FedEx, Revlon, GoPro, YETI, Goodyear and Nintendo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has established a four-step process to deliver refunds to importers: claim submission, mass processing, review and liquidation/reliquidation, and refund delivery.
“We continue to look at it. We continue to also watch what the CBP is doing, because they’re, in the month of April, supposed to be rolling out some of the first systems in terms of how you then apply for the refunds. We’re obviously closely watching that, and then at the same time weigh in our options as to whether or not we also need to file a lawsuit,” Hoff said.
While Mercedes is dealing with that question, it is investing in American manufacturing. By 2030, the company plans to invest more than $7 billion into its U.S. operations, including $4 billion that is earmarked for its Tuscaloosa, Alabama Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI) site. The company recently committed to building its GLC SUV in Tuscaloosa, meaning that the company’s three core SUVs will all be builts at that site.
“We have said in the strategy of Mercedes that we want to be as customer centric as possible. Since the U.S. is such a strong SUV market, and the GLC is an important product for this market, we want to have short delivery times for our customers,” Michael Schiebe, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG for production, quality and supply chain management, told Newsweek.
“Nowadays we are shipping the [GLC] from Germany, either Bremen or Sindelfingen, and it takes at least four weeks [to reach dealerships in the U.S]. We will amazingly shorten that period of time [with the new investment],” he continued.
Since MBUSI was established 30 years ago, the company has produced 5 million vehicles in Alabama alone.