Amidst Cost Crisis, Virginia Urges U.S. Trade Representative to Stop Hitting American Consumers and Businesses with Illegal Tariffs

Amidst Cost Crisis, Virginia Urges U.S. Trade Representative to Stop Hitting American Consumers and Businesses with Illegal Tariffs  

RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Jay Jones and a coalition of 21 other states are urging the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to change course and drop its plan to continue Trump’s illegal tariffs. In a comment letter, the states pushed back on the USTR’s latest proposal – tariffs on the European Union and 59 other countries, after the Supreme Court ruled against their first attempt in February and the Court of International Trade struck down their second attempt in May. 

“Virginians are making difficult choices about whether to put gas in their cars or buy groceries for their families.  The consequences of Donald Trump’s unlawful, reckless whims continue to be pushed onto the people, forcing consumers and small businesses to make impossible decisions,” said Attorney General Jones. “This lack of respect for the people and the rule of law will not be accepted as business as usual. My office will fight to hold the President accountable and lower costs for hardworking Virginians.” 

For more than a year, President Trump has inflicted chaos on the American economy by imposing tariffs without the legal authority to do so. Initially, the President claimed that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) allowed him to impose tariffs of any amount, on any product, from any country, for any length of time. In February, the Supreme Court rejected that argument, concluding that the IEEPA tariffs were unlawful. President Trump immediately turned to a separate law that had never been used before — Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — and announced 10 percent tariffs on most products worldwide. But the Commonwealth and 23 other states successfully challenged those tariffs as well.  

Now, Trump directed the USTR to investigate the European Union and 59 other countries, which together account for 99.4 percent of all U.S. imports, to determine whether those countries are doing enough to combat forced labor in global trade. Two and a half months later, the USTR’s report landed on the same conclusion Trump wanted all along: 10 percent tariffs on 14 economies, 12.5 percent tariffs on the other 46, with the exact same exceptions as before and no explanation of how the new tariffs will combat forced labor.   

A recent analysis by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that nearly 90 percent of the costs of tariffs in 2025 were paid by American consumers and businesses. By imposing yet another round of price increases on American consumers and businesses, President Trump is tripling down on failed economic policies. 

The letter argues that this latest round of tariffs is illegal, outside the scope of the authority Congress gave the USTR, and unsupported by evidence.  

The comment is led by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Also joining the coalition are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. 

Published on: July 9, 2026

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