25 U.S. States Sue Trump Administration Over New Tariffs

A coalition of 25 Democrat-led U.S. states has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the legality of tariffs imposed in July on goods from 60 trading partners. The states argue that these new duties are an unlawful exercise of presidential power.

According to the lawsuit filed by the office of Oregon's Attorney General, Dan Rayfield, there is "no factual connection between the alleged problem of forced labor in international supply chains and the blanket global tariffs" imposed on trading partners. The states contend that the administration's justification for the tariffs is a pretext for overstepping its authority.

The Trump administration had justified the tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, by stating that trading partners were not doing enough to combat the export of goods produced with forced labor. These new levies took effect as a previous 10% global U.S. tariff expired.

Plaintiffs, including California and New York, assert that the underlying investigations into trading partners were merely a "unlawful attempt to exercise unrestricted tariff powers." They argue that "We all pay the price for these unlawful tariffs, not foreign governments," emphasizing the negative impact on American businesses and consumers.

This legal action follows similar attempts by smaller U.S. companies to halt the tariffs immediately after they took effect in July. Past global tariffs imposed by Trump have faced successful legal challenges from states and smaller firms. Despite repeated legal setbacks, President Trump has continued to pursue new tariffs, with Rayfield criticizing this as an attempt to "create more chaos for working families and domestic businesses."