Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Lawsuit Challenges Unlawful Tariffs That are Increasing Prices for Americans

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general, today filed a third lawsuit over the Trump administration’s efforts to impose illegal tariffs on American consumers and businesses. The case 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 prices of essential goods.

“For the third time, I stand with my colleagues across the country to fight the Trump administration’s illegal tariffs. And we will continue this fight as long as the administration attempts to force its tariffs upon American consumers and businesses,” said Raoul. “The Court of International Trade and the U.S. Supreme Court have already found the Trump tariffs to be unlawful, and we are confident we will prevail this third time.”

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 before been used – Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 – and announced 10% tariffs on most products worldwide. Raoul and a coalition state attorneys general challenged those tariffs as well, and in May the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the president acted unlawfully.

Following those defeats, 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 capitulated to the president, 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 might actually be aimed at combatting forced labor, the USTR reached a foregone conclusion and imposed across-the-board tariffs nearly identical 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 – State of Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al. – 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 American consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of the costs of tariffs in 2025.  By imposing another round of price increases on American consumers and businesses, the Trump administration is tripling down on failed economic policies.

In Illinois, state government agencies purchase a range of imported products, or products made with imported components, every year. And because the costs of tariffs are passed on the purchaser, those agencies face higher prices for the goods they have to purchase – price increases that will have to be paid with state tax dollars.  

“I applaud the Illinois Attorney General and the coalition of state attorneys general for standing up against the unlawful Sec. 301 tariffs. The attack on Rule of Law must end,” said Richard Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind Inc., Vernon Hills.

Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.