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States Prepare New Legal Challenge to Trump’s Global Tariffs

By  |  March 5, 2026

President Donald Trump is confronting another significant legal battle over his trade policies after a coalition of states announced plans to challenge a new round of tariffs on imports entering the United States.

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    Attorneys general from New York, California, and Oregon said Thursday that a group of states intends to file a lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade targeting Trump’s latest tariff order. The measure imposes a 10% tax on imports that took effect on Feb. 24, with the president signaling that he may increase the levy to 15%, according to Bloomberg.

    The legal action comes shortly after the US Supreme Court struck down a previous set of broad tariffs that Trump had imposed last year. That earlier policy relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The court’s decision invalidating those duties triggered a wave of refund requests from businesses that had already paid billions under the policy.

    Thousands of US companies are now pursuing refunds totaling roughly $170 billion connected to those earlier tariffs, per Bloomberg. The payments were collected under the IEEPA-based tariff program that the Supreme Court ruled unlawful.

    Trump’s latest tariffs rely on a different legal authority: Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The statute allows the president to impose temporary duties to address a significant balance-of-payments deficit. However, the provision has never previously been used as the basis for tariffs, according to Bloomberg.

    Read more: Toy Entrepreneur Takes Trump’s Tariffs to the Supreme Court

    State officials argue that the administration’s justification for invoking Section 122 is flawed. The lawsuit contends that the United States does not face the kind of balance-of-payments crisis envisioned by the statute. The states maintain that such crises were tied to the era of fixed exchange-rate systems like the gold standard, which the US abandoned decades ago.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is helping lead the challenge, criticized the administration’s latest move in a statement. “After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill,” she said.

    The administration turned to Section 122 after the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling last month invalidated the earlier tariffs issued under IEEPA. The decision came in two closely watched cases, including one brought by Democratic state attorneys general.

    Meanwhile, disputes surrounding the earlier tariff program are also intensifying. On Wednesday, a judge at the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade ordered the Trump administration to pause a key step in the tariff payment process. The move is intended to simplify the process of issuing refunds if courts determine that companies are entitled to repayment, according to Bloomberg.

    As the new lawsuit moves forward, the outcome could determine whether the administration’s alternative legal strategy for imposing tariffs can withstand judicial scrutiny.

    Source: Bloomberg