# 25 US states sue the Trump administration over Section 301 tariffs imposed on more than 80 trading partners
> Twenty-five US states filed suit in the US Court of International Trade on August 3, asking the court to block the latest round of Section 301 tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on more than 80 trading partners; California's attorney general cited harm to consumers and businesses, and the states cited a recent US Supreme Court ruling in their challenge

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-08-03 · heads: Who Decides, Whose Money · 7 takes · 4 lenses · 1 regions

## Summary

Twenty-five [US](/en/entity/united-states) states filed suit on August 3 in the US Court of International Trade, asking the court to block the latest round of [Trump](/en/entity/person/donald-trump) administration Section 301 tariffs imposed on more than 80 trading partners after the president declared last month that those countries had failed an unspecified compliance standard. California's attorney general Rob Bonta, a lead plaintiff, said the tariffs are "hurting consumers and businesses." The states cited a recent [US Supreme Court](/en/entity/united-states) ruling in support of their challenge. The Section 301 authority, originally a trade-remedy statute, has been used by the administration to impose sweeping import duties without the congressional authorisation that courts have in some cases found is required for tariffs of this scope.

## The split

US coverage focused on the domestic constitutional question: CBS, KCTV5 and Spectrum led with the states' argument that the executive is overreaching Section 301. The sourcing industry outlet WWD reframed it as an attack on the administration's manufacturing reshoring drive. Non-US coverage is thin, reflecting that the 80-plus targeted trading partners have not yet filed independent challenges. Most affected countries, including [Canada](/en/n/canada-us-tariff-50pct-0720), South Korea and Brazil, have pursued WTO or bilateral routes; this US state-level suit is a domestic legal vector distinct from foreign-government responses.

## By the numbers

- 25, US states joining the lawsuit as co-plaintiffs
- 80+, trading partners targeted by the latest Section 301 tariff round
- 1, Supreme Court ruling the states cited in support of their challenge
- 0, trading partners that have independently filed in the US Court of International Trade alongside the states

## Why it matters

Twenty-five states filing jointly signals coordinated legal pressure from the state level on a second wave of broad tariffs. The US Court of International Trade has previously blocked or slowed executive tariff actions; a ruling in the states' favour could constrain the administration's use of Section 301 as a general trade lever against dozens of countries simultaneously. The targeted trading partners have strong economic interests in the outcome but are watching the domestic US legal process unfold rather than intervening directly.

## What to watch

- Whether the US Court of International Trade grants an emergency injunction pausing the tariffs pending a ruling
- The full list of 25 plaintiff states and which of the targeted 80-plus trading partners files amicus briefs or independent suits
- How the administration responds and whether [Congress](/en/entity/united-states) moves to clarify Section 301 authority after the suit

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### Local US broadcaster filing first on the lawsuit; notes the states cited a recent US Supreme Court ruling to support their legal challenge and that 25 states joined the action
- **KCTV5 (CBS Kansas City)** (United States, en) — KCTV5 reported that 25 states sued the Trump administration on August 3 over the latest round of tariffs, filing in the US Court of International Trade and citing a recent Supreme Court ruling in support of their challenge; the broadcast provided the earliest timestamped report of the suit's filing.
  > "Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, citing a Supreme Court ruling."
  Source: https://www.kctv5.com/2026/08/03/25-states-sue-over-trump-administrations-latest-tariffs-citing-supreme-court-ruling/

### US national broadcaster; carries California Attorney General Rob Bonta's direct statement that the tariffs are hurting consumers and businesses, and names the US Court of International Trade as the filing venue
- **CBS News** (United States, en) — CBS News reported that California's attorney general Rob Bonta said the new tariffs are hurting consumers and businesses, and that 25 states jointly filed in the US Court of International Trade asking it to declare the tariffs unlawful; CBS also named the other lead states in the coalition.
  > "New US tariffs are hurting consumers and businesses, California's attorney general said in filing the suit at the US Court of International Trade."
  Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/25-states-sue-trump-administration-tariffs/

### unlabelled
- **PYMNTS** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.pymnts.com/legal/2026/25-states-sue-trump-administration-to-block-latest-tariffs/
- **Time** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://time.com/article/2026/08/04/us-states-suing-trump-administration-tariffs-backlash/
- **Quartz** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://qz.com/25-states-sue-trump-section-301-forced-labor-tariffs-080426
- **Spectrum News** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/us/snplus/politics/2026/08/03/states-sue-trump-over-section-301-tariffs

### Trade and sourcing industry publication; frames the suit as a challenge to the administration's effort to rebuild the domestic manufacturing base through tariff pressure, giving a supply-chain angle absent from general news coverage
- **WWD / Sourcing Journal** (United States, en) — WWD's Sourcing Journal reported that the 25 plaintiff states are challenging the Trump administration's use of Section 301 authority to impose tariffs, describing the suit as targeting the administration's broader effort to rebuild manufacturing supply chains through targeted duties; the trade-focused framing places the legal challenge in a commercial context beyond the political narrative.
  > "The plaintiffs are taking on the Trump administration over its efforts to rebuild domestic manufacturing through Section 301 duties imposed on more than 80 trading partners."
  Source: https://wwd.com/sourcing-journal/trade/25-states-sue-trump-section-301-duties-tariffs-california-arizona-1239092410/

## Across the graph
- Related: [[colombia-us-tariff-0724]], [[canada-us-tariff-50pct-0720]], [[china-rare-earth-iea-jul16]]
- Entities: United States, Person:donald Trump, Centre vs the States

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-states-tariff-suit-0804