New York—and 11 other states across the U.S.—are following in California’s footsteps by suing the Trump administration over the impacts of wide-ranging tariffs on American businesses and the country’s economy.
Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday that New York would lead a collective including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont in bringing a lawsuit against the White House in the United States Court of International Trade.
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The complaint claims that President Donald Trump has effectively imposed tax hikes on Americans by levying duties on trading partners by illegally leveraging the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
James and a coalition of attorneys general allege that the IEEPA duties have unilaterally and indiscriminately raised imports on imports that Americans need, causing severe economic damage. Congress hasn’t granted the president this this authority, they wrote in the filing, and therefore the administration’s executive orders are a violation of the law.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to stop the tariffs, including the reciprocal duties paused for three months on April 9, from being implemented.
“President Trump’s reckless tariffs have skyrocketed costs for consumers and unleashed economic chaos across the country. New York is standing up to fight back against the largest federal tax hike in American history,” Governor Hochul said. “Attorney General James and I are partnering on this litigation on behalf of New York consumers, because we can’t let President Trump push our country into a recession.”
James added that Trump’s actions effectively “raise taxes on a whim”—and that’s beyond his executive power. “Donald Trump promised that he would lower prices and ease the cost of living, but these illegal tariffs will have the exact opposite effect on American families,” she said Wednesday. “His tariffs are unlawful and if not stopped, they will lead to more inflation, unemployment, and economic damage.”
According to Hochul and James, the impending threat of double-digit duties has already caused economic erosion, and if the trade actions are allowed to proceed, they could cause more adverse impacts in the form of increased unemployment, heightened inflation and slower economic growth.
The complaint cited a report from the New York City Comptroller, which estimated that even a mild recession caused by Trump’s duties could cost the city 35,000 jobs. Meanwhile, New York state agencies could see $100 million in extra costs because of the increased prices the tariffs will usher in.
New York’s energy bills would spike, too, they said, as the state purchases much of its electricity from Canada. Small businesses that rely on imports from North American neighbors and other countries across the globe are already feeling the sting of higher prices. The lawsuit pointed to Central New York’s Cortland Standard, “one of the oldest family-owned newspapers in the country,” which recently announced it would shutter in part due to an anticipated tariff on newsprint.
Trump’s usage of IEEPA as a justification for imposing sweeping tariffs is both unprecedented and unlawful, the lawsuit claimed. According to the attorneys general, the five-decade-old law was not designed to give the president unmitigated power when it comes to trade issues, and the administration has violated the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act by imposing the tariffs this way.
Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a similar lawsuit in the Golden State, alleging that Trump’s worldwide duties have had devastating consequences for the world’s fifth largest economy. California businesses have suffered the consequences of the duties already, Newsom said—including a loss of tourism from Canada, which brought in $3.72 billion in revenue for the state in 2024.
