NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson joins two dozen states in lawsuit over new Trump tariffs

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has joined 24 Democratic-led states in suing the Trump administration over the latest round of sweeping tariffs.

The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s first round of tariffs in February, ruling that the executive branch doesn’t have the power to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Trump criticized the ruling, and in July, he ordered a new round of tariffs of up to 12.5% on countries his administration claims are engaging in unfair or discriminatory trade practices.

Jackson said the new tariffs on 80 countries will impact nearly all U.S. imports and cost the average North Carolina family approximately $1,100 per year.

“These tariffs are hurting families, farmers, and business owners,” said Jackson in a statement on Tuesday. “They’re illegal, and they’re making things harder for North Carolinians who are working around the clock to keep the lights on, pay rent, and afford gas.”

Jackson said North Carolinians paid nearly $3.5 billion in tariffs last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act before the Supreme Court ruled against the administration.

And while business owners and importers have applied for refunds, over half of those levies collected prior to the court’s ruling remain unreturned, according to the free-market think tank Tax Foundation.

The lawsuit filed this week argues that the latest round of tariffs exceeds the administration’s legal authority and violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

Jackson is joined in the suit by the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania and the Attorneys General of Oregon, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

FEMA, DHS grant conditions draw second suit

This is the second suit in as many days that Jackson has filed against the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, Jackson told members of the North Carolina Council of State that his office has also filed suit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security for threatening to withhold more than $1  billion that has been promised to states for disaster response and counterterrorism efforts.

“This is bomb squads, hurricane response, active shooter response. They are attempting to impose new conditions on the receipt of those funds,” Jackson said.

Jackson said one condition would allow DHS to terminate any federal grant at any time, for any reason.

Jeff Jackson blasts FEMA funding freeze at flooded Hillsborough facility

A second condition would withhold federal money unless states change how they administer elections. According to the attorney general, at least 13 counties in North Carolina would be forced to replace voting equipment that has already been certified by the State Board of Elections.

The suit maintains that Homeland Security is “using hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds as a cudgel” to impose the current administration’s preferred policies.

Jackson said the conditions are plainly in violation of the instructions with which Congress gave the money to FEMA.

Jackson is joined in this suit by many of the same attorneys general suing over the tariffs.

“This is the second time we have had to sue FEMA over something like this. We were successful last year, I anticipate that we will be successful this year,” Jackson said on Tuesday.

The attorney general won $17 million for N.C. in a similar suit against FEMA and DHS last December. In that case, the court found the federal government’s conditions on the grants were not “consistent with Congressional intent or FEMA’s mission.”