While States Challenge 15 Percent Tariffs, Trump Administration Restarts Canada Trade Talks

Last week, 24 states, including New York and California, filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s planned 15 percent global tariffs.

As Connecting the Dots reported at the time, President Trump announced new 10 percent levies after the Supreme Court ruled his International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs were unconstitutional. He then quickly promised to raise the penalties to 15 percent, but his administration has not yet formally done so.

The attorneys general and governors that lunched the suit argued that, like with the IEEPA tariffs, President Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in levying the latest penalties. For those, the president cited Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows the U.S. president to impose tariffs for 150 days without congressional action in order to address “large and serious trade deficits.”

According to The Associated Press, no president has ever invoked Section 122.

The White House reacted quickly to the lawsuit. “The President is using his authority granted by Congress to address fundamental international payments problems and to deal with our country’s large and serious balance-of-payments deficits,” said spokesman Kush Desai. “The Administration will vigorously defend the President’s action in court.”

While President Trump is running into opposition to his tariffs at home, his administration has restarted trade talks with allies. As CBC reported, for the first time since President called off negotiations in October 2025, Canadian and U.S. trade officials met last week to discuss a potential bilateral trade pact. While few details are available about their conversation Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc was in Washington, D.C. to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. In a statement after the meeting LeBlanc’s office said the discussion was “constructive and substantive.”