Attorney General Ellison wins lawsuit permanently blocking Trump Administration from imposing worldwide tariffs

May 28, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Keith Ellison today released the following statement after the United States Court of International Trade ruled that the Trump administration’s tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are invalid and cannot be implemented. The court ruled in favor of Attorney General Ellison and a coalition of 11 other attorneys general who sued the Trump administration in April for violating the law by imposing worldwide tariffs under IEEPA, causing severe economic damage throughout the country.

"My mission is to help the people of Minnesota afford their lives, and today’s ruling blocking Donald Trump’s illegal and destructive tariffs does exactly that,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison. “If Trump wants to impose tariffs, the Constitution requires him to work through Congress to do so. Even this Congress would be reluctant to sign off on Trump’s tariffs, which were expected to cost families thousands of dollars a year. Instead of abiding by the Constitution, Donald Trump abused the powers of his office by attempting to circumvent Congress and impose his tariffs anyway. I am proud to have won a lawsuit blocking this clear violation of the law, and I will continue standing up to Trump’s abuses of power.”

Attorney General Ellison and the coalition sued the Trump Administration on April 23 for unlawfully imposing tariffs under IEEPA through executive orders, social media posts, and agency orders. Attorney General Ellison and the coalition argued that the president has no such power under IEEPA. However, since February, President Trump has been unilaterally imposing sweeping tariffs against America’s closest trading partners and nearly every country on Earth.

The United States Court of International Trade today ruled that the law does not authorize any of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under IEEPA, including tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union. The court found the tariffs to be unlawful and ordered that they be permanently blocked.

Joining Attorney General Ellison in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.