Hundreds of Companies Sue Over Trump Tariffs

Summary

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WSJ What’s News – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Hundreds of Companies Sue Over Trump Tariffs
Date: February 24, 2026
Host: Daniel Bach (for the Wall Street Journal)
Key Guests: Alex Frangos (WSJ Business & Economics Editor), Rolf Winkler (WSJ Tech Reporter), Matthew Luxmore (WSJ Foreign Correspondent)

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Episode Overview

This episode zeroes in on sweeping legal and economic fallout from tariffs imposed by President Trump, the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions, and broader economic issues affecting both U.S. businesses and global politics. Key topics include the evolving U.S. trade policy under Trump’s administration, mounting lawsuits by major companies for refunding “illegally” collected tariffs, Apple’s efforts to reshore production, market movements, and a nuanced update on the grinding war in Ukraine as it enters its fourth year.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump Administration’s New Tariff Strategy

(00:43 - 03:14)

• The Trump administration is seeking new legal avenues to reimpose tariffs after the Supreme Court ruled many previous tariffs (including those under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act) illegal.
• President Trump aims to invoke different statutes—specifically Section 301 and Section 232—to justify new tariffs on industries like large-scale batteries, industrial chemicals, and power/telecom equipment.
• Quote:
  “He’s basically figuring out how can he reestablish a blanket of tariffs on lots of countries around the world after the Supreme Court ruling said he can’t do it the way he was doing it.”
  — Alex Frangos (01:33)

2. Companies Suing for Tariff Refunds

(02:22 - 03:14)

• With Customs and Border Protection halting collection of invalidated tariffs, many businesses (including FedEx and Costco) are demanding refunds, totaling over $100 billion paid last year.
• This creates major fiscal implications for the federal government as those funds are already in use for government spending and debt repayment.
• Quote:
  “We paid like over $100 billion worth of tariffs last year that had been invalidated by the Supreme Court. We’d like that money back.”
  — Alex Frangos (02:38)

3. Trump’s Economic Report Card & State of the Union

(03:14 - 04:43)

• Trump is set to defend his economic record, giving himself an “A plus plus plus plus,” despite a mixed reality:
  • Job growth has slowed, but unemployment remains low.
  • The trade deficit is at an all-time high, as U.S. trading partners navigate around tariffs.
  • Inflation has eased, but public sentiment is still negative; many feel tariffs increase pressure on consumers and the president’s attention is diverted to foreign issues.
• Quote:
  “People don’t really like it. So I think that the State of the Union...he is going to try to kind of reset the narrative that he is very focused on their pocketbook issues.”
  — Alex Frangos (04:29)

4. Apple and American Manufacturing

(04:43 - 06:23)

• Apple announces Mac Mini production will move to the U.S. (Houston), aligning with its $600 billion domestic investment pledge.
• Efforts to boost U.S. semiconductor production highlighted by a major TSMC plant in Arizona; however, the chips made there remain technologically behind those produced in Taiwan (“Silicon Shield” to deter Chinese aggression).
• Quote:
  “What’s made in Arizona is five years behind and will continue to be five years behind. There’s no way Taiwan is going to allow the best technology off the island because that’s to defend against Chinese invasion.”
  — Rolf Winkler (05:53)

5. Market Trends & Global Business Updates

(06:23 - 07:57)

• Stock futures rebound after a previous day’s sell-off triggered by AI disruption fears and tariff policy uncertainty.
• Bitcoin slides toward $63,000.
• U.S. airline stocks suffer as winter storms cause severe travel disruptions.
• Chinese automaker BYD’s European sales tripled, surpassing Tesla, as European competitors see declines.
• China bans export of critical minerals and technologies to 20 major Japanese companies, escalating trade tensions.

6. Four Years Into the Russia-Ukraine War

(08:31 - 13:02)

• Matthew Luxmore provides a sobering update: the frontlines are largely static; Russia’s gains are minimal compared to initial advances, and Ukraine has held firm thanks to resilience and external support.
• Massive Russian casualties (around 30,000 soldiers/month).
• Drones and electronic warfare are a major reason for the battlefield stalemate—any advance is quickly targeted and destroyed, leading to a bloody and static conflict.
• Russia is preparing for a long war, leveraging economic incentives to recruit in poorer regions while Ukraine faces manpower shortages and depends heavily on Western aid.
• Neither side is willing to back down, and public sentiment in Ukraine resists any peace deal requiring significant territorial concessions.
• Quote:
  “For Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, this is really a question of his legacy after a quarter of a century in power. He really has an obsession with bringing Ukraine under Moscow’s sway.”
  — Matthew Luxmore (09:30)
  “Drones play a large part in why this war is so stuck...it’s impossible, really, for either side to move forward, because as soon as a small group of soldiers moves forward, they are immediately targeted by drones.”
  — Matthew Luxmore (11:02)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tariff Refunds:
  “We’d like that money back. I mean, we were taxed illegally and we’d like that back.”
  — Alex Frangos (02:38)

• On U.S. Tech Supply Chains:
  “It’s called the Silicon Shield. Does China want to invade the island that actually makes the world’s most advanced chips, like all of them, that would be ruinous to the world economy.”
  — Rolf Winkler (06:06)

• On the War of Attrition in Ukraine:
  “It has turned into a war of attrition, essentially, which side buckles first? But now it’s been going on for four years, and neither side has buckled so far.”
  — Matthew Luxmore (12:45)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:43: Trump’s new tariff plans and legal reasoning
• 02:22: Lawsuits for tariff refunds & federal fiscal implications
• 03:14: Trump’s economic self-assessment vs. actual data
• 04:43: Apple reshoring, TSMC’s Arizona plant, “Silicon Shield”
• 06:23: Market and corporate news, global trade tensions
• 08:31: Four years since Russia invaded Ukraine, peace prospects
• 11:02: How drone warfare and attrition define the frontlines
• 12:45: Analysis of the war’s likely trajectory and Ukraine’s challenges

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Episode Takeaways

• President Trump’s tariff strategy continues to shape business, legal, and economic realities, with billions at stake as companies fight for refunds after a pivotal Supreme Court ruling.
• The economic landscape remains mixed with low job growth, lingering consumer discontent over inflation, and record trade deficits.
• Major shifts in tech manufacturing (Apple, TSMC) highlight ongoing U.S.-China strategic competition.
• The Russia-Ukraine war remains intensely costly, driven into a static and deadly stalemate by technology (drones) and entrenched national positions—with no end in sight.

Transcript

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[Daniel Bach]

President Trump prepares to address the nation with plans to sell Americans on his handling of the economy. Plus, FedEx joins a growing list of companies asking for tariff refunds. And it's now four years since Russia invaded Ukraine with few signs of an end to the war.

[Matthew Luxmore]

Ukraine is still very, very vulnerable to a potential backlash from Trump if he chose to do that as a response to the fact that the negotiations are not moving Forward.

[Daniel Bach]

It's Tuesday, February 24th. I'm Daniel Bach for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here's the AM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories. Moving your. We're exclusively reporting that the Trump administration is considering placing tariffs on six industries under national security grounds. The president is looking for new ways to impose duties in his bid to reshape global trade after the Supreme Court ruled most were illegal, including those issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Business and economics editor Alex Frangos is following these developments. Alex, new potential tariffs on large scale batteries, industrial chemicals and power grid and telecom equipment. What is the president looking to do here?

[Alex Frangos]

Yeah, well, he's basically figuring out how can he reestablish a blanket of tariffs on lots of countries around the world after the Supreme Court ruling said he can't do it the way he was doing it. So there's all these other laws with numbers that readers and listeners are going to start to get familiar with 301 and 232, which are different parts of the federal statutes that give the president the power to impose tariffs. And so he's added a whole bunch of new industries to these 232 national security tariffs. And the way that tariff works is that the government has to do an investigation over a number of months to establish that there's a national security threat before they can impose actual tariffs on them. So he's trying to figure out a way to like fill in all the gaps that the Supreme Court ruling has left in his tariff policy.

[Daniel Bach]

And per that ruling, Customs and Border Protection is telling importers it will stop collecting tariffs imposed under the Emergency Powers act from midnight tonight, which we know the cost of these import taxes has hurt a lot of businesses over the past year. Are they responding to this yet?

[Alex Frangos]

So, I mean, you have this kind of change in tariff regimes where the old tariffs, they're going to stop collecting. There's now new tariffs that come into effect. And then businesses are saying, wait a second, we paid like over $100 billion worth of tariffs last year that had been invalidated by the Supreme Court. We'd like that money back. So FedEx filed a lawsuit. There's Costco, a bunch of other companies as well that are like, hey, Supreme Court says we don't have to pay this. Can we have our money back? I mean, we were tax illegally and we'd like that back. That's obviously has big implications for the federal government because that money is needed for spending, for paying down debt, things like that. So there's just like lots of action going on.

[Daniel Bach]

And all of that comes ahead of the President's State of the Union address this evening, where we report he'll be trying to sell the public on his handling of the economy in his first year back in office. Trump has given himself a grade of A plus plus plus plus. But our economic report card, Alex, is a bit more mixed. Right. Some measures of the economy good, some needing improvement. Yeah.

[Alex Frangos]

I mean, there's a bunch of different things you can look at. If you look at the job market, job growth has been much slower than it was before the president took office, but it's historically at a reasonably low level. And then with the trade deficit, we see countries responding to these tariffs, helping their local industries navigate around tariffs, lower their own costs domestically and compete. And so net, net what you have is a bigger deficit than ever. That's probably not a, you know, not an a. On his report card, inflation has come down a bit, but ordinary Americans are not feeling really good about it. And if you look at the polls, they feel that the president has been kind of distracted by foreign policy issues and focused on tariffs, which, you know, while they haven't caused the spike in inflation the way that a lot of people thought, they have put pressure on American consumers and businesses, and people don't really like it. So I think that the State of the Union, from what we're hearing from our White House reporters, is the president is going to focus on the economy. He's going to try to sell to the American people that actually everything he's done has been really great for them and try to kind of reset the narrative that he is very focused on their pocketbook issues.

[Daniel Bach]

Alex, thank you for this. Thanks. Apple says it will move some production of its Mac mini desktop computer to the US from Asia as part of its pledge to invest $600 billion in the US over four years. Apple's chief operating officer said production will begin later this year at a Foxconn facility in north Houston, part of the company's latest initiative to reshore parts of its vast supply chain. The Mini is a niche product for Apple, with estimates that it made up less than 5% of Apple sales of Mac computers last year. The news comes as Apple is pushing to boost American chip production. That includes at a plant north of Phoenix run by tsmc, the world's largest chip maker. Apple is the biggest customer for the factory, which sits on land more than two and a half times the size of Central Park. Journal tech reporter Rolf Winkler toured the site, which is expected to include six chip plants.

[Rolf Winkler]

$165 billion would be one of the largest construction projects in the United States. If they ultimately spend all that and build everything there, it's going to be maybe a decade before this one facility reaches the volumes that TSMC has multiple facilities in Taiwan operating at. And moreover, there's the level of sophistication of the chip that they make in Arizona doesn't match Taiwan. What's made in Arizona is five years behind and will continue to be five years behind. There's no way Taiwan is going to allow the best technology off the island because that's to defend against Chinese invasion. It's called the Silicon Shield. Does China want to invade the island that actually makes the world's most advanced ships, like all of them, that would be ruinous to the world economy. So it's a very good deterrent.

[Daniel Bach]

You can hear more from Rolf on today's episode of our Tech News Briefing podcast and you can find a link in our show Notes to his video report where he tours the Apple facility in Texas and and the TSMC plant in Arizona. Stock futures are pointing to a higher open this morning following yesterday's sell off sparked by fears of AI disruption and trade policy uncertainty. That said, bitcoin prices continue to fall with the Crypto headed toward $63,000. One of the drags on markets yesterday was airline stocks, which tumbled as the so called bomb cyclone battered the east coast, grounding thousands of flights. Airports including JFK and Logan have seen major disrupt, with another 2,000 flights canceled in the US so far today. BYD's European sales nearly tripled last month, outpacing Tesla and underscoring a growing appetite for the Chinese giant's electric and hybrid cars. The data marks a strong start to the year for BYD and comes as established rivals like Volkswagen, BMW and Renault all reported sales declines in the region and China's Commerce Ministry has banned the export of critical minerals and dual use goods to 20 major Japanese companies, escalating a pressure campaign against Tokyo. The restrictions target essential items like rare earths, machine tools and chip making equipment with potential military applications. Coming up, Ukraine marks a grim anniversary for the war. We look at the prospects for a peace deal after the break.

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[Daniel Bach]

Today marks four years since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. And despite President Trump's pledge to end the war, there's been little progress through US Brokered peace talks and on a stalled front line, the death toll is rising on both sides. Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. And this week European lawmakers are at an impasse on getting an aid package for Ukraine signed off. Journal correspondent Matthew Luxmore has closely covered the war and joins me now. Matthew, firstly, can you remind listeners of where things stand now?

[Matthew Luxmore]

Well, the front lines in Ukraine are really pretty static. They have been for the past year. Russia has made some quite limited gains through the course of last year, far less than in 2022, the first year of the war. And really Ukraine has regained more territory since 2022 than Russia has taken. So you can't really speak of a great battlefield success for Russia. It's also happening at a colossal loss of life for Moscow's forces, something to the tune of what Western officials say is 30,000 soldiers dead per month. So Russia's capacity to keep this going is being questioned by some defense analysts. But for Russia's President Vladimir Putin, this is really a question of his legacy after a quarter of a century in power. And he really has an obsession with bringing Ukraine under Moscow's sway. As for Ukraine, the Ukrainians who have been very resilient over the past four years, weathering a real intense barrage from Russia that has cut heating to millions of homes and also water to so many people. The public opinion surveys in Ukraine show that people are not willing to sign away territory to Russia and they're willing to keep fighting if they have to. So people are very, very closely following the peace talks they want desper and then to the war. They're championing Trump's pressure on Russia. But fundamentally, people in Ukraine say that if a peace deal comes at the expense of a large swathe of territory in East Ukraine, territory where Ukraine's most robust defensive positions are, and that thousands of soldiers have given their lives defending, that is not a peace that Ukrainians are willing to accept.

[Daniel Bach]

I wanted to ask you about the state of this war. The Journal has reported a lot, of course, on the advancements in drone warfare, electronic warfare, things like that. But on the ground, it's turned into a slog, like many wars in centuries past. What do you make of that?

[Matthew Luxmore]

Well, I mean, drones play a large part in why this war is so stuck. In a way, there's a whole swathe of the frontline areas where drones rule the skies. And it's impossible, really, for either side to move forward, because as soon as a small group of soldiers moves forward, they are immediately targeted by drones. Both sides are pumping out to the tunes of many millions per year because they're ramping up their industries, able to build these explosive drones, which are cheap and reliable and increasingly precise. And it's made the fight much more perilous and, as we've seen in Ukraine, at least, much more static.

[Daniel Bach]

You report that many observers now see the peace talks as little more than a dance to avoid angering President Trump. So if this process continues to drag on, how does the war end?

[Matthew Luxmore]

Well, it's really turned into a war of a trade. Both sides are losing many, many soldiers, equipment. It's an incredibly expensive enterprise. Of course, what we've seen with Russia is that it seems to be preparing for the possibility of a long war. It's funneled a huge amount of money and resources into building up its war economy, its military industrial complex. It's recruiting very, very actively, especially in the Russian provinces, where people live poorly and they are more easily swayed by financial incentives to join the military. So this kind of model has worked out for Russia so far, but it's only a matter of question before Russia also feels much more strongly the strain of the fighting. And for Ukraine, it does have serious manpower issues. And Ukraine really is reliant on the financial lifeline and also the military aid lifeline from the West. And it can't keep this up forever. So, yes, it has turned into a war of attrition, essentially, which side buckles first? But now it's been going on for four years, and neither side has buckled so far. And both sides say that they can keep this going if they have to.

[Daniel Bach]

Journal foreign correspondent Matthew Luxmore. Matthew, thank you for your time.

[Matthew Luxmore]

Sure. Thank you very much.

[Daniel Bach]

And that's it for what's news for this Tuesday morning. Today's show was produced by Hattie Moyer. Our supervising producer is Sondra Kilhoff. And I'm Daniel Bok for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.

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