作者：Nicholas P. Brown 和 Tom Hals
2026年3月4日 上午11:07 UTC（更新于35分钟前）
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美国加利福尼亚州奥克兰港的集装箱堆放情况，2026年2月24日。路透社/Carlos Barria/资料图片
- 小企业面临高额关税退款法律成本
- 97%的美国进口商为小企业，缴纳了550亿美元关税
- 银行、对冲基金以折扣价收购退款索赔
纽约，3月4日（路透社） – 美国最高法院推翻了对伊恩·罗森伯格（Ian Rosenberger）的背包公司Day Owl造成数万美元损失的关税那天，朋友们纷纷发信息向他表示祝贺。但他并未分享他们的喜悦。
“我看不到任何可能追回那笔钱的方法，”罗森伯格表示。他位于匹兹堡的公司年销售额仅数百万美元，可能根本负担不起律师费。
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包括联邦快递（FedEx）、好市多（Costco）和欧莱雅（L’Oreal）在内的约2000家公司已在美国国际贸易法院提起退款诉讼，预计还会有更多诉讼方加入。最高法院于2月20日裁定，紧急关税的使用超出了前总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）的权限，许多企业现在正准备打一场持续数月至数年的官司以追回资金。
但众多小企业主得出的结论是，尽管这一裁决在法律文书上是一场胜利，但要收回关税支出并非易事——甚至可能根本无法收回。
路透社采访的律师和企业主表示，提起退款诉讼会分散他们的时间、资金或两者，使其无法专注于维持业务运营。“我们进行的讨论和分析……对我们团队的时间消耗巨大，”爱达荷州户外服装公司Wild Rye的首席执行官卡西·阿贝尔（Cassie Abel）表示。
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小企业缴纳了三分之一的关税
根据美国商会的数据，约97%的美国进口商是小企业，而它们在2025年缴纳的关税是一个巨大的经营阻力。宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院预算模型研究人员的数据显示，在美国政府收取的1750亿美元关税中，小企业支付了约550亿美元。
一些资金紧张的小企业“将不得不接受损失”，公益律师事务所太平洋法律基金会（PLF）的律师奥利弗·邓福德（Oliver Dunford）表示。该公司代表儿童服装制造商Princess Awesome（此案中为关税诉讼的主要原告之一）。
对于正挣扎于全球不确定性的小型企业而言，法律因素带来的额外成本是大企业无需担忧的。
即使是那些有能力打官司的小企业也采取观望态度。
生产儿童家具和学习用品（如玩具箱和储物架）的ECR4Kids公司年营收约7000万美元。尽管如此，创始人兼管理合伙人李·西格尔（Lee Siegel）目前仍搁置诉讼，理由是法院流程尚不明确，且结果无法保证。
“我想等几周后尘埃落定再说，”他表示，该公司已支付了约200万美元关税，而这些关税后来已被撤销。
西格尔希望用退款来降低其美国库存的价格，因此漫长而昂贵的法律程序可能会降低退款的价值。“退款很重要，但尽快退款更重要，因为这能让我们稳定定价，”他说。
图表显示，成本上升和关税是2025年小企业面临的最大经营阻力。
“这并非新奇或困难之事”
小企业倡导者表示，政府有基础设施可以轻松退还关税，并且过去也曾这样做过。“这并非新奇或困难之事，”为争取退款而成立的小企业联盟We Pay the Tariffs的执行董事丹·安东尼（Dan Anthony）表示。
然而，在裁决后的新闻发布会上，特朗普预测“我们最终可能会在法庭上打五年官司”来处理退款问题。律师兼国际贸易专家乔治·塔特尔（George Tuttle）表示，如果索赔人无力争取，政府可能会保留部分有争议的资金。
Princess Awesome的联合创始人伊娃·圣克莱尔（Eva St. Clair）表示，她“希望政府能直接退还我们的钱”，而无需更多诉讼——但她也不排除通过法庭追回约3万美元关税的可能性。
不过，成本仍是障碍。她的公司通过虚拟小费罐从客户那里筹集了8000美元，部分得以度过关税难关。在最高法院的案件中，她的公司得到了PLF的邓福德免费代理。“我无法想象请律师要花多少钱，”圣克莱尔说。
银行和对冲基金正以约每美元40美分的折扣收购退款索赔，这使一些企业能够收回部分索赔金额，同时避免法律麻烦。不过，有些人出于原则拒绝出售。
“我不是那种会用两美元换一美元的人，”电视供应商Element Electronics的总裁迈克尔·奥肖内西（Michael O’Shaughnessy）表示。他的公司已提起退款诉讼，但并不抱太大希望。“一旦政府拿到你的钱，你就再也拿不回来了。”
罗森伯格在关税生效后缩减了Day Owl的业务范围，并裁掉了一个利润丰厚的销售渠道负责人。他表示，放弃退款可能意味着挽救他的企业。
“如果我把所有时间都花在律师身上，那我就没时间卖背包了。”
报道：Nicholas P. Brown（纽约）和Tom Hals（特拉华州）；Helen Reid（伦敦）和Timothy Aeppel（纽约）补充报道；编辑：Peter Henderson、Lisa Jucca和David Gaffen
我们的标准：《汤森路透信托原则》。
For some small businesses, a tariff refund isn’t worth the pain of pursuing it
By Nicholas P. Brown and Tom Hals
March 4, 2026 11:07 AM UTC Updated 35 mins ago
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Shipping containers are stacked up at the port of Oakland, in Oakland, California, U.S., February 24, 2026. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
- Small businesses face high legal costs for tariff refunds
- 97% of U.S. importers are small businesses, paid $55 billion in tariffs
- Banks, hedge funds buying refund claims at discounts
NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) – The day the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs that had cost Ian Rosenberger’s backpack company Day Owl tens of thousands of dollars, friends started texting him their congratulations. He didn’t share their elation.
“I don’t see any possible way to get that money back,” said Rosenberger, whose Pittsburgh-based company, with just a few million dollars in sales, likely could not afford attorneys’ fees.
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About 2,000 companies, including FedEx, Costco, and L’Oreal, have sued for refunds in the U.S. Court of International Trade, with more litigants likely. The Supreme Court ruled on February 20 that the use of emergency tariffs exceeded President Donald Trump’s authority, and many businesses are now girding for a months- to years-long fight to get their money back.
But numerous small company owners are coming to the conclusion that, while the ruling is a win on paper, recouping tariff expenses won’t be easy – if it happens at all.
Lawyers and business owners interviewed by Reuters say suing for refunds would divert their time, money or both from the need to keep operations running. “The number of conversations and analyses we’ve done … the time suck on our team has been monumental,” said Cassie Abel, CEO of Idaho-based outerwear company Wild Rye.
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SMALL BUSINESSES PAID ONE-THIRD OF TARIFFS
Roughly 97% of U.S. importers are small businesses, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the tariffs they paid were a big headwind in 2025. Of the $175 billion in tariffs paid to the U.S. government, small businesses paid about $55 billion, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model.
Some cash-strapped small businesses “will just have to eat the loss,” said Oliver Dunford, an attorney at public interest law firm Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), who represented kids’ clothing maker Princess Awesome, a lead plaintiff in the case against the tariffs.
For smaller companies grappling with renewed global uncertainty, the legal considerations represent an added cost that larger corporations need not worry about.
Even small businesses that can afford to litigate are taking a wait-and-see approach.
ECR4Kids, which makes child-focused fixtures and learning products like toy boxes and cubbies, has roughly $70 million in annual revenue. Still, for now, founder and managing partner Lee Siegel is holding off on litigation, citing a lack of clarity on the court process, and no guarantee of the outcome.
“I want to see when the dust settles in a few weeks,” said Siegel, whose company has paid about $2 million in the since-rescinded tariffs.
Siegel wants to use refunds to lower prices on ECR4Kids’ unsold U.S. inventory, so a long, expensive court process could render them less valuable. “The refund is important,” he said, “but it’s more important if it’s done sooner, because it allows us to stabilize pricing.”
The chart shows that rising costs and tariffs were the biggest headwind for small businesses in 2025.
‘NOT NOVEL OR DIFFICULT’
Small business advocates say the government has the infrastructure to refund tariffs easily, and has done so before. “This is not novel or difficult,” said Dan Anthony, executive director of We Pay the Tariffs, a small-business coalition formed to advocate for refunds.
However, in a post-ruling press conference, Trump predicted “we’ll end up being in court for the next five years” over refunds. The government could wind up keeping some of the disputed money if claimants can’t afford to fight for it, said George Tuttle, a lawyer and international trade expert.
Eva St. Clair, co-founder of Princess Awesome, says she is “hoping that (the government) will simply refund us” without more litigation – but hasn’t ruled out going to court to recover around $30,000 in tariff payments.
Cost, though, is an obstacle. Her company – which survived tariffs in part by collecting $8,000 from customers through a virtual tip jar – was represented for free by PLF’s Dunford in the case that reached the Supreme Court. “I can’t imagine what it would take to pay a lawyer,” St. Clair said.
Banks and hedge funds are buying refund claims at roughly 40 cents on the dollar, enabling some businesses to recoup a portion of their claim while avoiding the legal headache. Some, though, refuse to sell out of principle.
“I’m not the type who’d trade two dollars for one,” said Michael O’Shaughnessy, president of television supplier Element Electronics. His company has sued for a refund, but he isn’t getting his hopes up. “Once the government gets your money, you never get it back.”
Rosenberger shrunk Day Owl’s scope and laid off the head of a lucrative sales channel after tariffs took effect. Sacrificing a refund could mean saving his business, he said.
“If I’m spending all my time with lawyers, that’s time I’m not spending selling backpacks.”
Reporting by Nicholas P. Brown in New York and Tom Hals in Delaware; Additional reporting by Helen Reid in London and Timothy Aeppel in New York; editing by Peter Henderson, Lisa Jucca and David Gaffen
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.