Twenty-four states sued the Trump administration on Thursday to block the president’s global tariffs.
Attorneys general in states including Oregon, California, North Carolina, Maine, Vermont and Wisconsin filed a lawsuit to halt President Donald Trump’s tariffs under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Trump imposed global tariffs shortly after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping emergency tariffs late last month.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade argues that the new tariffs are illegal and raise prices for consumers.
“The focus right now should be on paying people back, not doubling down on illegal tariffs,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who is leading the case, said in a statement. “People are already making hard choices about what to put in their shopping cart. Prices on basics like groceries, clothing and other essentials have all been skyrocketing. At some point, the bills become unmanageable.”
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Top administration officials have denied evidence that the tariffs hurt consumers, going so far as to call for researchers at the New York Federal Reserve to be “disciplined.” A trade court judge ordered on Wednesday for the Trump administration to start the process for refunding tariffs to importers, though it is unclear if the recouped money would be passed on to consumers.
The lawsuit argues that Trump illegally invoked Section 122, which requires tariffs to be applied in a nondiscriminatory manner, when he exempted certain goods from Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and other countries. The law allows the president to exempt countries to address large payment imbalances from one or more others.
“American consumers and business owners have made it clear they do not want tariffs, yet President Trump has tried over and over again to implement them. This time, the President is attempting to use an obscure law as a tool for his tariffs, and is yet again, going about it illegally,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday the global tariffs will likely increase from 10% to 15% this week.
Trump also announced he will expand Section 232 tariffs, which concern national security threats, and Section 301 tariffs against unfair trade practices to rebuild his tariff regime.
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