A coalition of 25 Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs, calling them an illegal workaround to reimpose import duties that the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year.
The states, led by the attorneys general of Oregon, Arizona, and California, are targeting tariffs of 10% to 12.5% that the Trump administration imposed on goods from 60 trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The levies, which took effect July 24, cover countries that collectively account for 99.4% of all U.S. imports, including the European Union, China, Canada, and Mexico.
The administration justified the tariffs by citing widespread forced labor in global supply chains, launching investigations in March into whether trading partners were doing enough to prevent goods produced with forced labor from entering the United States. But the states argue the forced-labor rationale is a fig leaf for a broader tariff agenda that has already been rejected by the nation’s highest court.
In February, the Supreme Court invalidated sweeping tariffs Trump had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ruling that the 1977 law did not grant the president authority to levy such broad import duties. The administration subsequently imposed temporary tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act, which expired after 150 days on July 24, the same day the new Section 301 tariffs took effect.
The lawsuit alleges the USTR failed to link tariff rates to the actual prevalence of forced-labor-tainted goods in each economy and ignored public comments and testimony that undercut its rationale. The states also note that the administration offered no mechanism for accused countries to escape the levies through remedial actions, and maintained an effective 10% floor even for nations it acknowledged were taking steps to combat forced labor.
“After losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. The complaint argues the tariffs are arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law, and seeks their removal along with refunds to the states.
The legal challenge joins two other lawsuits filed in the Court of International Trade by small businesses that also contested the forced-labor tariffs. It marks the third time the multi-state coalition has sued the Trump administration over its tariff policies since 2025.
The White House defended the tariffs, with spokesman Kush Desai saying the administration is using lawful authority to obtain the elimination of unreasonable acts, policies, and practices that burden U.S. commerce. The case is expected to be closely watched as a test of executive trade power and could ultimately return to the Supreme Court.
Sources: Politico, Supply Chain Dive, Boston Herald
discussion