Two small businesses filed a lawsuit in a New York trade court the day after new tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent took effect on 60 economies. Meanwhile, Trump threatens the EU with additional tariffs over the billion-dollar fine imposed on Google.
Two small American companies filed a lawsuit on Friday, July 24, 2026, against the Trump administration over new tariffs imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, arguing that the president is exceeding his legal authority. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, and the companies were represented by the nonprofit legal organization Liberty Justice Center, according to a report by Yonhap news agency.
The plaintiffs are Burlap & Barrel, an online retailer based in New York, and Collective Horology, a retailer based in California. The Liberty Justice Center, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of these companies, is the same organization that previously successfully challenged Trump's emergency tariffs, which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in February 2026. The lawsuit alleges that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" by imposing nearly identical tariffs on 60 materially different economies without a reasoned, evidence-supported explanation.
The White House announced on July 23, 2026, new tariffs of 10 and 12.5 percent on 60 trading partners, including the European Union and South Korea, on the grounds that these countries are not taking sufficient measures to ban imports of goods produced by forced labor. The tariffs took effect on Friday, the same day a previous 150-day global tariff of 10 percent expired. The lawsuit emphasizes that the new tariffs also cover lawful importers who have no connection to forced labor, including small American companies with transparent supply chains.
Sara Albrecht, President and CEO of the Liberty Justice Center, told Yonhap: "Forced labor is morally indefensible, but an important goal does not give the government permission to ignore the law. The administration let one global tariff expire and immediately replaced it with another under a different law. Changing the law does not change the law. Every tariff authority has limits, and every administration must respect them."
Asked whether the new round of tariffs could withstand legal scrutiny, Trump told reporters at the White House that the tariffs "have been in effect for a long time" and have been "approved for years." He did not like the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the previous emergency tariffs, but emphasized that the administration has "many forms of tariffs." Trump defended his tariff policy by claiming that, thanks to tariffs, $19.2 trillion has been invested in the U.S., according to Yonhap.
On the same day, Trump threatened the European Union with additional tariffs on Truth Social, this time because the EU imposed two fines on Google totaling over a billion dollars for unlawful trade practices. "The European Union will pay a very high price for this illegal and highly unethical behavior, which I have consistently warned them about," Trump wrote, adding that he foresees imposing a "substantial tariff" at the earliest possible opportunity. According to Politico, the previous day, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also warned that the EU's action against Google could jeopardize the bloc's relations with the White House.
Trump's threat comes at a sensitive moment for transatlantic trade relations. According to Politico, the EU welcomed with relief that the new tariffs announced on Thursday were set at 10 percent for European exporters, which is in line with the Turnberry Agreement signed by Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the fall of 2025, which caps U.S. tariffs on imports from the EU at 15 percent. However, Trump's new threat via social media could signal a possible breach of that agreement. The next steps of the U.S. administration toward the EU have not been officially announced so far.
