Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden told shareholders on Thursday that the sportswear giant expects to receive a refund of roughly €300 million ($335 million) in U.S. tariffs that were invalidated by the Supreme Court earlier this year, according to Reuters.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting in Fürth, Germany, Gulden said the refund has not yet been booked but indicated “there’s a very good chance it will happen,” given that the U.S. Court of International Trade has ruled importers are entitled to recover duties paid under the now-defunct IEEPA tariffs.
The Legal Backdrop
The Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on February 20, 2026, in a 6-3 ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts. The court held that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, finding that the power to “regulate” imports does not encompass the power to tax.
On March 4, the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered that “all importers of record” who paid IEEPA-based duties are “entitled to the benefit of” the Supreme Court’s decision and directed Customs and Border Protection to process refunds. CBP has since proposed an automated refund system through its Automated Customs Environment platform, though the government has sought delays in issuing payments.
Adidas and the Tariff Headwind
The potential refund would be a welcome reversal for Adidas, which had warned in March that U.S. tariffs and a weak dollar would together reduce its 2026 earnings by approximately €400 million. That disclosure contributed to a share drop of more than 7 percent when the company issued full-year operating profit guidance of €2.3 billion, below analyst expectations of €2.72 billion.
Adidas reported strong first-quarter 2026 results on April 29, with currency-neutral revenue rising 14 percent to €6.6 billion and operating profit climbing to €705 million. A €300 million tariff refund, if realized, would offset most of the drag Adidas attributed to U.S. trade policy at the start of the year.
Broader Refund Process
More than 2,000 lawsuits seeking IEEPA tariff refunds have been filed at the Court of International Trade. CBP has said it expects refunds to be issued within 60 to 90 days after claims are processed, though legal experts have cautioned that timeline may slip. Consumer class-action lawsuits have also emerged seeking to pass tariff refunds through to end buyers.
