Twelve U.S. states want Trump’s tariffs reversed

Oregon, Illinois, New York, and nine more U.S. states have filed a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump. The lawsuit alleged that President Donald Trump misused the Emergency Powers Act. The twelve states will ask a federal court to pause the president’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.

A lawsuit has been filed by twelve U.S. states challenging Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs. The state attorneys claimed that the president misused the International Emergency Economic Powers Act meant to address unusual economic threats to the U.S. A three-judge panel at the Court of International Trade in Manhattan will hear the lawsuit.

State attorneys sue the U.S. President 

AG Dan Rayfield explains what to expect in oral arguments for our tariff lawsuit tomorrow at the U.S Court of International Trade.

This lawsuit challenges President Trump’s misuse of an emergency power to set tariffs and impacts all of us. pic.twitter.com/MgCtbXJdz9

— Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (@ORDOJ) May 20, 2025

Trump said America’s long history of importing goods more than it exports to other nations was a national emergency. The president added that importing more than they export has harmed manufacturers in the U.S. Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China in February. The U.S. President also imposed a 10 percent across-the-board trade tariff on all imports in April this year, aimed at nations with which America had the largest trade deficits. Most of those nation-specific trade tariffs were halted a week later. 

Recently, the Trump administration temporarily decreased its trade tariffs on China after the two nations held discussions in Geneva, Switzerland. The two nations promised to work on a long-term deal. The twelve U.S. states argued that the trade deficit experienced by the country was not an emergency. The states added that the IEEPA was not allowed to authorize any trade tariffs at all. 

The same panel expected to hear the lawsuit this Wednesday also heard a similar case filed by five small businesses last week. The panel will deliver a decision in the next few weeks. 

California filed a separate lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco. Businesses and members of the Blackfeet Nation have also filed separate lawsuits to challenge Trump’s tariffs. Legal advocacy groups have also filed lawsuits challenging the president’s decision to impose tariffs on other nations. 

In support of the blue states, U.S. House Democrats recently submitted a brief requesting a federal court to reverse the trade tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The Democrats said the taxes on imports were beyond any import levies authorized by Congress. The brief was signed by 148 legislators, including several from Washington and Oregon. 

The Democrats filed the lawsuit on May 16 in New York in the  U.S. Court of International Trade. The House Democrats revealed that Congress has set limits on the president’s power to declare tariffs. The Democrats argued that the current president has broken the limits. 

DoJ says the lawsuit should be dismissed 

Dan Rayfield, Oregon Attorney General, said the trade tariffs were skyrocketing the prices for families and businesses in the state. The attorney claimed the tariffs would cost the average Oregon family an extra $3,800 yearly. 

Rayfield said the president imposed the trade tariffs without input from the public and Congress. The Republican president claimed the U.S. courts could not review his decisions, which the Oregon Attorney General termed a misuse of emergency powers.

The Department of Justice said the lawsuits filed by the twelve states should be dismissed. The DoJ claimed that the lawsuit claimed ‘speculative economic losses instead of providing concrete harms caused by the trade tariffs. The department added that only Congress could challenge an emergency declared by the U.S. president under IEEPA. 

The Department of Justice explained that the courts or states were not in a position to challenge a national emergency declared by the U.S. president. A DoJ spokesperson revealed that the department would continue to defend Trump’s agenda to challenge unfair trade practices.

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