25 US states sue Trump administration over new tariffs on 60 trading partners

A group of 25 US states with Democratic governors or attorneys general sued the Trump administration in the US Court of International Trade on Monday, 12 Mordad 1405 (3 August 2026), arguing the president had exceeded his legal authority to impose new tariffs. According to Al Jazeera, the lawsuit targets new double digit tariffs imposed last month on 60 US trading partners over allegations they had not done enough to stop imports of goods made with forced labour. New York Attorney General Letitia James said the administration, after losing at the Supreme Court, was again trying to illegally raise taxes on households and businesses through a new round of tariffs.

The tariffs were imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, after the US Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, were unlawful. White House spokesman Kush Desai described the new tariffs as a lawful and proportionate response to unfair trade practices by other countries.