Published on Monday, August 03, 2026
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s efforts to impose illegal tariffs on American consumers and businesses.
Today’s lawsuit challenges the Administration’s recent decision to increase tariffs on more than 80 countries that together account for 99.4% of all U.S. imports—costs that will be passed along to Americans already struggling to pay the price of essential consumer goods.
“Americans are sick and tired of an economy that isn’t working for them, and President Trump is exacerbating the situation with every chance he gets,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The President is using tariffs as a trade weapon against foreign nations that he perceives to have wronged him. The problem remains that tariffs are almost entirely passed on to American consumers who are already struggling to put food on their table, gas in their vehicle, and a roof over their head. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that the President’s tariffs are unlawful, and in typical fashion, he thinks he found a loophole in this new strategy. And we will fight to ensure he is unsuccessful in this latest attempt.”
For more than a year, President Trump has inflicted chaos on the American economy by imposing tariffs without the legal authority to do so. Initially, the President claimed that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) allowed him to impose tariffs of any amount, on any product, from any country, for any length of time. In February, the Supreme Court rejected that claim, agreeing with several state attorneys general that the IEEPA tariffs were unlawful. President Trump then turned to a separate law that had never been used before—Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974—and announced 10% tariffs on most products worldwide. But state attorneys general challenged those tariffs, too, and in May the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the President acted unlawfully.
Rather than accepting those losses, President Trump turned to another law—Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974—and directed the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate the European Union and 59 other countries, to determine whether those countries are doing enough to combat forced labor in global trade. Late last month, the USTR did what Trump wanted all along, imposing 10% and 12.5% tariff rates on nearly every economy that trades with the U.S. In other words, instead of taking actions that would combat forced labor, the USTR reached a foregone conclusion and imposed across-the-board tariffs similar to those that courts have struck down twice before.
Today’s lawsuit challenges this latest round of tariffs. The complaint contends that these actions exceed the Administration’s legal authority and violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The case was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade.
A recent analysis by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that nearly 90 percent of the costs of tariffs in 2025 were paid by American consumers and businesses. By imposing another round of price increases on American consumers and businesses, the Trump Administration is tripling down on failed economic policies.
Joining Attorney General Neronha in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
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