Trump's new tariffs on global goods are facing major legal challenges after the Supreme Court last month struck down his sweeping tariffs. The attorneys general of New York and Oregon said on Thursday that several states plan to file lawsuits against Trump's 10% tariff order that took effect on February 24. The president has previously said he plans to further increase the tax rate to 15%.
Thousands of U.S. companies are seeking about $170 billion in refunds over tariffs that were overturned by the Supreme Court.
Trump’s new tariffs invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. This provision had never been used to impose tariffs before, but it allowed the president to respond to significant "balance of payments" deficits by imposing limited tariffs.
The state attorney general said the plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that Trump’s justification for imposing new tariffs (i.e., the U.S. trade deficit) does not meet the Section 122 scenario. They argue that the United States no longer has balance of payments problems because such problems could only occur in a fixed exchange rate system like the gold standard, which the United States abandoned decades ago.