The Chinese car and technology group BYD $1211 (-1,26%) has filed a lawsuit in the USA against President Donald Trump's government.
This is according to court documents filed with the US Court of International Trade at the end of January. BYD and four of its US subsidiaries are demanding the refund of all tariffs imposed on their products since April 2025. At the same time, the company is attacking the legal basis of the duties.
Specifically, BYD is questioning the application of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) - the law that Trump relied on when introducing the car tariffs.
The plaintiffs argue that IEEPA does not authorize border levies because "the text of IEEPA does not use the word 'tariff' or any term with an equivalent meaning".
The lawsuit is the first by a Chinese automaker against the new US tariffs and joins thousands of complaints by global companies attacking the same legal basis.
BYD emphasizes that it had to file its own lawsuit in order to secure the right to a refund of duties already paid.
While the company does not sell any cars in the USA, it operates a broad industrial network there: buses and commercial vehicles, batteries, energy storage technology and solar modules are just as much a part of its portfolio as the truck plant in Lancaster, California, which according to the company employs around 750 people.
The legal dispute is unfolding against the backdrop of increasingly tense economic relations between Washington and Beijing.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Chinese cars threaten the future of the US car industry. At the same time, however, he has repeatedly stated that he would welcome a Chinese manufacturer producing vehicles directly on US soil.
》The political context《is also significant
In a separate case, the US Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of the tariffs. According to Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the court is deliberately taking its time to reach a decision due to the "enormous" scope of the case.
The BYD case could therefore not only have financial consequences, but could also set the tone for the entire US customs policy under the IEEPA.
