Attorney General Raúl Torrez Seeks Court Order to Immediately Stop Trump Administration’s Illegal Tariffs

Attorney General Raúl Torrez joined a coalition of Attorneys General in filing a preliminary injunction to halt implementation of President Trump’s illegal tariffs. The motion seeks a court order immediately pausing the tariffs imposed without congressional action under Trump’s executive orders.

The coalition filed its initial lawsuit to stop the illegal tariffs on April 23. If granted, this motion for preliminary injunction would put an emergency stop to the tariffs while the litigation process continues.

“These tariffs are both unlawful and reckless,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “President Trump does not have the authority to impose these sweeping tariffs without a legitimate national emergency. These actions bypass Congress, violate the Constitution, and are already hitting American families in their wallets. We need immediate relief to stop further harm to working people.”

The motion asks that the U.S. Court of International Trade order federal agencies to stop collecting illegal tariffs the Trump administration has imposed on most products worldwide. The motion also requests the Court to put on hold President Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on imports from 56 other trading partners on July 9.

Economic analysis submitted to the court shows that state and local governments in the 12 states joining the motion stand to pay at least $3.4 billion per year in additional costs due to the tariffs. The states also submitted a Federal Reserve report noting that businesses “expected elevated input cost growth resulting from tariffs” and that “Most businesses expected to pass through additional costs to customers.”

Additionally, studies of the tariffs issued in Trump’s first presidential term show that 95 percent of the cost of the tariffs are paid by the American people. The current tariffs impose:

• A 145% tariff on most products from China
• A 25% tariff on most products from Canada and Mexico
• A 10% tariff on most products from the rest of the world

Under Article I of the Constitution, only Congress has the “Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” In 1977, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) granted powers to the President to regulate certain foreign transactions only when an emergency presents “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad. No President had imposed tariffs based on IEEPA in the five decades since the inception prior to this administration.

The motion, entitled State of Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al. (Case No. 1:25-cv-00077-GSK-TMR-JAR), is pending before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Original source can be found here.