On Aug 3, a group of 25 Democratic-led U.S. states launched a legal challenge to the Trump administration's most recent tariff action, the office of Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said. The complaint was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York and contests tariffs applied to goods from 60 trading partners.
The contested measures were put in place by the administration on July 24 and set new rates of 10% and 12.5% on affected imports, including goods from the European Union. Federal officials said the tariffs target trading partners they allege have not done enough to prevent the export of products made with forced labor. The new duties took effect as a previous 10% global tariff expired.
The states' filing follows earlier legal actions by small U.S. businesses, which sued to block the tariffs on the day they went into effect last month. Those business-led suits were brought immediately after the administration announced the measures.
Legal challenges to the administration's global tariffs are not new: states and small businesses have previously succeeded in court against earlier tariff measures enacted during the administration's second term. Despite those setbacks in the judiciary, the administration has continued to pursue additional tariffs.
"Despite losing every step of the way, Trump is trying yet again to inflict more chaos on working families and homegrown Oregon businesses. We’re all paying the price for these unlawful tariffs, not foreign governments," Rayfield said in a statement.
The states' lawsuit formalizes opposition to the July 24 measures and places the dispute before the U.S. Court of International Trade, where the legal status and application of the tariffs will be adjudicated. The filing underscores continued friction between the administration's use of tariffs as a trade policy tool and the legal challenges mounted by domestic entities affected by those tariffs.
Context and next steps
The complaint by the 25 states will proceed through the court system, where it will be considered alongside prior cases brought by businesses challenging related global tariff measures. The outcome of this litigation will determine whether the new 10% and 12.5% rates on imports from the listed trading partners remain in effect while legal proceedings continue.