FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has joined leaders from 23 other states in a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration's latest round of tariffs, which Beshear says are driving up costs for American families and businesses.
The case, a release from Beshear read, was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade. It challenges President Donald Trump's most recent efforts to increase tariffs worldwide without congressional approval and following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the issue.
"Americans and American businesses have paid 90% of President Trump's tariffs, at a time when costs are already too high and families need help," Beshear said. "The Supreme Court ruled his tariffs aren't legal and he doesn't have the authority to impose them. Now he's trying to do a workaround to push his own agenda – we suggest he stop, and we're fighting back."
For more than a year, according to the release, Trump has imposed tariffs that the states argue were enacted without legal authority. The president initially claimed the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, allowed him to impose tariffs of any amount, on any product, from any country, for any length of time. On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court rejected that argument, concluding the IEEPA tariffs were unlawful.
A recent analysis by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that nearly 90% of the costs of tariffs in 2025 were paid by American consumers and businesses, according to Beshear.
"These illegal tariffs will be incredibly difficult and challenging for Kentuckians and our industries like bourbon, steel and more," Beshear said. "Prices on groceries, housing and even gas, which is already spiking due to the war in Iran, will continue to increase. We should be helping American families and businesses, not hurting them."
The complaint contends that Trump's actions violate the law, upend constitutional separation of powers, and violate the Administrative Procedure Act.
The case is led by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Also joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
