24 states sued Mr. Trump’s 10% import tax

On March 5, a group of 24 US states sued President Donald Trump’s administration for imposing an additional 10% import tax on all trading partners. They believe that the President cannot circumvent the recent ruling of the US Supreme Court by invoking a new legal basis.

Previously, on February 20, the Supreme Court rejected Mr. Trump’s import tax policies based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In response, on the same day, Mr. Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 10% import tax, invoking authority under Article 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. A day later, he announced that he would raise this tax to 15%.

The states that sued argued that the new tax was also illegal. According to the lawsuit filed with the US Court of International Trade (CIT), the law Mr. Trump cited was designed to address urgent, short-term monetary situations, not the problem of long-standing trade deficits.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said at a press conference that Mr. Trump’s latest tax policy was an attempt to “circumvent the law” to avoid working with Congress, as required by the US Constitution. “President Trump’s economic policies were not popular in the past and cost American people, businesses, and states hundreds of billions of dollars,” Rayfield said.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said the administration will defend the President’s policies in court. “The President uses the authority granted by Congress to resolve fundamental issues in international payments and handle the country’s large and serious balance of payments deficit,” Desai said.

From 0:01 on February 24 (US time), goods imported from countries to the US began to be subject to a temporary tax of 10%. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also stopped collecting taxes related to IEEPA. In an interview with CNBC On March 4, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said an additional 15% import tax would take effect “sometime this week”.

Additional import duties are in effect for up to 150 days. The extension must then be approved by the National Assembly. However, on March 4, Bessent confirmed that within 150 days, the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Department of Commerce will complete trade-related studies, thereby allowing them to impose additional import taxes. He predicted that by August, US import taxes would return to the level before the Supreme Court ruled.