24 US states sue Trump administration over new global tariffs

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - New York Attorney General Letitia James and attorneys general from 23 other US states filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s latest global tariff policy.

The lawsuit came days after the Supreme Court invalidated a previous round of duties introduced by the administration.

The suit asked the US Court of International Trade to declare the new tariffs unlawful and to order refunds for states and businesses that have already paid the penalties.

The legal challenge followed a landmark Supreme Court ruling last month that struck down most of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs introduced last year. The court found that the administration improperly relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify imposing the duties.

Trump announced a new set of tariffs under a different legal authority after the ruling, invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The administration has imposed a global tariff rate of 10% on most imports and has indicated plans to raise the rate to 15%.

The coalition of state attorneys general, many of whom were also involved in the earlier legal challenge, argues that the administration is attempting to bypass the Supreme Court decision by using a law that was never intended to support sweeping tariff measures.

The lawsuit said Section 122 was designed to address temporary monetary imbalances under the former gold-standard system rather than to manage broader trade deficits.

The states also contend that the tariffs violate the Constitution’s separation of powers by infringing on Congress’s authority on trade policy, and argue that the duties fail to comply with requirements in the 1974 law that tariffs be applied uniformly.

James said the move represents an attempt by the administration to sidestep the Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated tariffs imposed under the emergency powers law.

The latest lawsuit added to the legal and economic uncertainty surrounding the administration’s trade policies. A federal court ruled Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs previously struck down by the Supreme Court could be entitled to billions of dollars in refunds.

The dispute also followed earlier legal battles between Trump and James. Last year, James and several states sued the administration in its first round of tariffs, a case that eventually reached the Supreme Court and resulted in one of the most significant legal setbacks for Trump during his second term.