Two US firms sue Trump administration over new tariffs

Two small American businesses filed a lawsuit on July 24, 2026, challenging the Trump administration's latest round of sweeping tariffs, which took effect that same day. The legal action, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, targets new duties of 10 percent and 12.5 percent levied on imports from 60 trading partners, including the European Union, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and South Korea. The administration announced the tariffs on July 23, stating they were necessary because the targeted nations had failed to adequately prevent goods produced with forced labor from entering international supply chains.

The plaintiffs, Burlap and Barrel, a New York spice retailer, and Collective Horology, a California watch seller, are represented by the Liberty Justice Center, a legal nonprofit. They argue the administration's use of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is a pretext designed to replace a previous global tariff regime that courts have already invalidated. The lawsuit contends the government failed to make the detailed, country-specific findings required by law, instead imposing a "broad-brush" tax on nearly all imports. Sara Albrecht, chairman and CEO...