Beauty giants seek refunds after US tariffs ruled unlawful
Key takeaways
- The Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s emergency tariffs were unlawful, opening the door to large-scale refunds.
- Beauty giants, including L’Oréal, Sol de Janeiro, and Dyson, are seeking reimbursement through the US Court of International Trade.
- The ruling could trigger billions in repayments and reshape tariff strategies across the global beauty supply chain.
Beauty multinationals are filing claims to recover costs tied to US tariffs, after the Supreme Court ruled that levies imposed under emergency powers were unlawful. L’Oréal, Sol de Janeiro, and Dyson are among thousands of companies that lodged complaints with the US Court of International Trade in February, seeking refunds on duties paid under tariffs introduced during President Donald Trump’s second term.
L’Oréal brought the case through its Travel Retail Americas division, which oversees beauty sales across airports, airlines, and cruise lines.
The disputed levies were introduced in April 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and took effect in August. The Supreme Court recently found that Trump’s use of emergency powers to implement the tariffs was unlawful, opening the door to repayments.
Economists at the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimate that reversing the IEEPA tariffs could result in up to US$175 billion in refunds. The aforementioned companies have not disclosed the sums they are seeking.
According to court documents, defendants include the US, US Customs and Border Protection, and its Commissioner, Rodney S. Scott.
The legal ramifications for tariff reimbursement are also being assessed further up the beauty supply chain. German chemical group BASF said it will sue for import tariff reimbursement if its US subsidiary is found to have a valid legal claim following the Supreme Court’s decision.
“If this change in regulations does indeed result in a legal title for BASF Corporation, we of course have a fiduciary duty to pursue this claim,” CEO Markus Kamieth said during a press conference after releasing quarterly results.
He added that the internal assessment is ongoing and the outcome is unclear. Finance Chief Dirk Elvermann said that most products sold in the US were made there, strongly limiting any direct impact from import duties.
Beauty multinationals seek refunds after Supreme Court ruling.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump introduced a new 10% global tariff on imports, with plans to raise the rate to 15% and adjust country-specific levels in some cases.
Tariff impact on beauty
Some beauty brands and manufacturers sought to mitigate the financial impact of tariffs by raising product prices, while others refused to do so.
E.L.F. Beauty, Naturium, Glow Recipe, and The Inkey List were among brands that raised prices in the US and other markets last year in response to higher import costs.
Major European beauty companies previously urged the EU to exclude American cosmetic goods from its tariff rollout. The group of 16 beauty executives — including L’Oréal, Beiersdorf, Givaudan, and IFF — warned that retaliatory tariffs against the US could hurt the EU’s personal care industry, one of the region’s biggest sectors.
From prestige beauty houses to ingredients suppliers, companies across the value chain are now weighing whether to pursue repayments under a tariff regime that the nation’s highest court has deemed unlawful.
