[Edaily Reporter kim mi-kyung ] Nongshim(004370)has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government seeking a refund of the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration. This is a follow-up measure after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs was unlawful. Attention is now focused on whether refund lawsuits will spread across the entire domestic food industry—which relies heavily on exports to the U.S.—following Nongshim’s precedent.

According to the food industry on the 2nd, Nongshim’s U.S. subsidiary filed a complaint on the 28th of last month (local time) with the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) against the U.S. government and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), among others. The complaint seeks the refund of duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), along with statutory interest. It is also reported that the company requested a recalculation of duties for imported goods for which the duty amount has already been finalized.

A Nongshim spokesperson stated, “This was handled by our U.S. subsidiary, and it is true that a complaint was filed.”

Previously, in April of last year, the Trump administration declared the U.S. trade deficit a national emergency and imposed reciprocal tariffs on trading partners under the IEEPA. However, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a final ruling in February declaring the measure unlawful. Consequently, a path has been opened for companies to recover the tariffs they paid.

The issue lies in the refund process. While U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began accepting refund applications for the relevant shipments on the 6th of last month, it initially limited eligibility to importers who had filed individual lawsuits and received court orders for recalculation. It is believed that Nongshim’s decision to file a separate lawsuit stems from these procedural factors.

According to the U.S. Court of International Trade, approximately 7,000 companies have filed lawsuits on the same grounds. Nongshim’s claimed amount has not been disclosed. Although the specific amount was not stated in the complaint, considering the period during which reciprocal tariffs were imposed (April of last year through February of this year), the duties to be refunded are reportedly estimated to be at least 4 billion won.

Attention is also focused on how other food companies are responding. SamyangFoods operates through its U.S. sales subsidiary, Samyang America, which purchases products manufactured in Korea from headquarters and supplies them to local distribution channels. CJ CheilJedang Corp is expanding its local production facilities and distribution networks in the U.S., centered on its Bibigo brand, while Daesang also established a local production base by launching a kimchi factory near Los Angeles in 2022.

A food industry official stated, “The timing of imports, the volume of goods imported, the amount of tariffs paid, and the amount of refunds still pending vary from company to company,” adding, “Since some companies have already received their refunds without issue, it is difficult to interpret a single company’s lawsuit as a movement by the entire industry.”