US states sue to challenge Trump’s new 10% tariff

2026-03-05 - 21:43

US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs last only for 150 days, unless they are extended by Congress. (EPA Images pic) WASHINGTON: A group of US states said Thursday that they had filed a lawsuit against president Donald Trump’s new tariffs on imports, imposed after the Supreme Court struck down his global duties last month. In their lawsuit, attorney generals from New York, California, Oregon and other states argued that Trump had “once again exercised tariff authority that he does not have” in rolling out a 10% levy after his earlier duties were ruled illegal. “Because these tariffs are unlawful, this court should declare that they are not in force” and order that refunds be made, the group of 24 states said in its filing to the US Court of International Trade. Trump’s new tariffs last only for 150 days, unless they are extended by Congress, but he has already threatened to raise the rate to 15% and his administration is pursuing more lasting action. For now, the states charged that Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 did not authorize Trump’s “immense and ever-changing” duties. For one, the law was designed to allow limited tariffs to address issues like a significant “balance of payments” deficit, the group said — a situation the group says the US is not facing. The law also requires that new tariffs should not be applied discriminatorily, something the filing says Trump is doing. “The new tariffs exempt many goods from Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua,” New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office said in a statement. “They also include 84 pages of specific product exceptions,” the statement said. “Once again, President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses,” James said. California attorney general Rob Bonta said in a separate statement that the state had “challenged the illegal imposition of tariffs time and time again because this question matters enormously for Californians who are already struggling with rising costs.” The Supreme Court’s ruling does not affect Trump’s sector-specific tariffs, but it has opened the door to a rush for refunds as importers try to get back lost revenues. The tariffs now ruled illegal had generated more than US$130 billion for the US government as of late-2025.