Oregon is leading a coalition of 25 states in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump over his administration’s latest round of widespread tariffs that have infused uncertainty into global supply chains.

It’s the third lawsuit that Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has filed over Trump’s aggressive import taxes. This time, the states are suing in International Trade Court over the administration’s interpretation of a 1970s-era trade law that’s the justification for 10-12% tariffs on goods from nearly all U.S. trading partners.

“We’re all paying the price for these unlawful tariffs, not foreign governments,” Rayfield said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Just as many families are back to school shopping, these tariffs are driving up costs for necessities like clothing and electronics.”

Trump has continually tried to use tariffs as a bargaining tool with other countries and to raise revenue. However, economists warn the threat of tariffs has instead sown uncertainty into an already fragile economy. Trump’s first round of tariffs in April 2025 was challenged by Rayfield and others and ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court.

Since then, companies have navigated a murky refund process to claw back money spent on the first round of import taxes.

Trump is now using a different law to justify a new round of tariffs, which are paid for by U.S. importers to the federal government. The administration says this time they are targeting countries that have weak laws or enforcement related to forced labor.

“President Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains,” Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer said in a press release last month. “The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.”

Oregon is considered a trade-dependent state. In 2024, the year before tariffs rattled the economy, companies imported just over $28 billion worth of goods and parts, and exported more than $34 billion to global markets.

Since early 2025, Oregon businesses have been warning state leaders, like Gov. Tina Kotek and Sen. Ron Wyden, that the import taxes are raising the cost of doing business. Companies from a wide range of industries have halted hiring or new projects.

Oregon’s economy has been slow to rebound from the pandemic and tariffs — along with other challenges — could continue to put a damper on growth. The state unemployment rate currently sits at 5.2%, which, although moderate, is still among the highest in the country.

Rayfield and his counterparts in the two dozen other states, including California and Washington, are arguing this current round of tariffs exceeds the president’s legal authority and violates the Administrative Procedures Act. The lawsuit was filed Monday at the International Trade Court in New York. It could be months before the court considers the case.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/08/03/oregon-attorney-general-sues-trump-tariffs/