Harman International, a U.S. subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court seeking refunds of reciprocal tariff payments imposed by the Trump administration, it was confirmed on the 14th. The U.S. subsidiary of Taihan Cable & Solution, the No. 2 cable producer in Korea, was also reported to have filed a similar lawsuit.
According to the United States Court of International Trade (CIT), Harman filed a reciprocal tariff suit against the U.S. government and others on the 7th local time. The suit seeks refunds of reciprocal tariffs paid to date and asks that no additional reciprocal tariffs be imposed. In the suit, Harman argued that the reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were procedurally flawed and should be void, according to reports.
Then, the U.S. subsidiary of Taihan Cable & Solution filed a lawsuit on the 8th seeking refunds of reciprocal tariffs on the same grounds against the U.S. government and others.
To date, corporations that have filed suits against the United States seeking refunds of reciprocal tariffs number around 1,000 worldwide. A legal professional with experience practicing law in the United States said, "The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hand down a ruling soon on whether the reciprocal tariff is unlawful," adding, "Ahead of that decision, corporations that have already paid reciprocal tariffs are filing a series of suits with the Court of International Trade to secure their refund rights in advance."
In April last year, the Trump administration issued an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world without congressional approval, citing the IEEPA. As a result, Korea was hit with a 25% tariff. Afterward, the Korean government negotiated with the United States to reduce it to 15% in exchange for a $350 billion investment commitment to the United States.
However, some U.S. importers filed suit, arguing that the authority to impose tariffs lies with Congress under the U.S. Constitution, and both the district and appellate courts found that the Trump administration lacked a legal basis to impose reciprocal tariffs.
The Trump administration appealed, and the case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court announced it would hand down major decisions on the 14th, leading foreign media to suggest that a ruling on reciprocal tariffs could come that day.