Erik Larson (Bloomberg Law): Trump’s Latest Tariffs Hit With New Lawsuit by 25 States
A group of 25 states filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs that went into effect last month, adding to similar complaints by small businesses who claim the levies are illegal.
New York, California, Illinois and other states filed the complaint Monday in the US Court of International Trade, setting up a now-familiar clash with separate coalitions of states and small businesses locked in a fight with the Trump administration over a third round of tariffs.
The lawsuits accuse Trump and US officials of unlawfully using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to replace earlier tariffs that were either struck down by the US Supreme Court or expired. The government’s stated reason for imposing the levies — concerns about goods produced with forced labor — is pretextual and invalid, they said.
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Under the new tariffs, the administration is collecting 10% to 12.5% duties on imports from most major trading partners. The move under Section 301 followed a US probe into the alleged failure of about 60 economies to prevent forced labor in their supply chains to the detriment of American workers.
Rachel Riley (Law360): 25 States Sue Trump Over 3rd Round Of Global Tariffs
The new complaint, which requests a three-judge court, seeks to block implementation of the tariffs pending judicial review, and ultimately obtain a court order striking them down.
Section 301 empowers the president, through the U.S. Trade Representative, to address unfair trading practices following an investigative process.
The USTR cited the provision In a July 23 notice imposing a 10% or 12.5% tariff on most imports from 60 countries based on forced labor allegations, according to the states. The tariffs cover countries accounting for 99.4% of imports to the United States.
The same group of states challenged the initial tariff regime, and the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in their favor in May 2025, concluding the IEEPA does not give the president the unfettered authority to impose tariffs on goods from nearly every country in the world. That ruling was largely affirmed by a Federal Circuit majority in August 2025.
In a 6-3 ruling issued Feb. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court decisions deeming the president’s tariffs under the IEEPA illegal. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts reasoned that the Constitution bestows Congress with the power to impose taxes and duties, while the executive branch has no such authority, especially during peacetime.
On the heels of the Supreme Court ruling, Trump signed an order installing a temporary baseline 10% duty under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Section 122 permits the president to set a baseline tariff of up to 15% on all countries for a maximum of 150 days unless Congress grants an extension.
The Section 122 tariffs were likewise challenged in court, and the CIT concluded in May that the temporary global duties were unlawful and based on an overly broad reading of the legal provision. The federal government has appealed that decision to the Federal Circuit.
According to the states’ new lawsuit, the U.S. Trade Representative announced it was launching a Section 301 investigation into 59 countries and the European Union in March and published its findings less than three months later. The Section 301 tariffs took effect last month just as the Section 122 tariffs expired.
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