IP Law Daily, VITAL BRIEFING—Administration to investigate major trading partners; states, small businesses fight interim tariffs, (Mar 13, 2026)
After plaintiffs successfully challenged tariffs in the Supreme Court the Trump administration reimposed tariffs under other authorities, which 24 state attorneys general argue is also legally flawed.
The battle over tariffs enters a new stage after the Supreme Court’s recent determination that tariffs imposed by President Trump under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful. Some of the battles Thomas Thompson examines in this installment of Tariffs Insights include:
The investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) into the economies and trade practices of major U.S. trading partners as a precursor to invoke emergency powers and import duties.
A lawsuit brought by two U.S. companies against the Trump administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade, arguing that Section 122 of the Trade Act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, which they assert is a congressional prerogative.
Another lawsuit challenging tariffs under Section 122 brought by 24 state attorneys general that asserts that the president’s claim of authority in imposing tariff mistakes a trade deficit for a balance of payments deficit which the statute requires.
Uncertainty surrounding the status of trade agreements signed by several countries before the Supreme Court’s IEEPA decision was announced.
To read the article, click Administration to investigate major trading partners; states, small businesses fight interim tariffs.
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