New Jersey challenges Trump administration’s latest global tariffs
A coalition of 25 states argues that the administration exceeded its authority by imposing tariffs of up to 12.5% on nearly all U.S. imports.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has joined officials from 24 other states in challenging the Trump administration’s latest tariffs, arguing that the president is again trying to impose sweeping import taxes without legal authority.
A lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenges tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on nearly all goods imported from 60 trading partners, including the European Union. Together, the trading partners account for more than 99% of U.S. imports, according to the complaint.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the tariffs after investigating whether the trading partners were doing enough to prevent goods made with forced labor from entering their markets.
But the attorneys general of the states that are part of the lawsuit contend that the forced-labor investigation was a pretext for imposing broad tariffs similar to those courts previously struck down. Their complaint alleges that the tariffs exceed the administration’s authority under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
“When we see repeated attempts to impose tariff after tariff—even as courts declare them illegal—it’s ordinary people who ultimately bear the cost,” Davenport said in a statement. “New Jersey families are paying more for household items, our businesses face uncertainty and find it difficult to plan, and the economic burden keeps falling on the people who can least afford it.”
In February, the Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. After that decision, Trump invoked a different provision of the Trade Act to impose 10% tariffs on most imports. The Court of International Trade ruled in May that those tariffs were also illegal, although the decision was stayed during an appeal.
Trump’s latest tariffs rely on Section 301, which allows the U.S. trade representative to respond to certain unfair foreign trade practices. The states argue that the administration failed to connect the new rates to forced-labor practices in individual countries, adequately consider public comments, or weigh the tariffs’ costs and benefits.
The states represented in the lawsuit are seeking to have the tariffs declared unlawful, block their enforcement, and secure refunds for tariffs they paid.
Krystal Knapp is the founder, executive director, and publisher of The Jersey Vindicator and the founder of Planet Princeton. She has more than two decades of experience reporting in New Jersey, including 10 years at The Trenton Times, where she was the newsroom’s public records and computer-assisted reporting expert. Her work has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Association and the Center for Cooperative Media. You can reach her at Krystal AT jerseyvindicator.org.