Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Monday sued the Trump administration for the third time over its latest efforts to impose tariffs, as part of a coalition of 23 state attorneys general.

The lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s decision last month to increase tariffs again.

“For the third time, I stand with my colleagues across the country to fight the Trump administration’s illegal tariffs. And we will continue this fight as long as the administration attempts to force its tariffs upon American consumers and businesses,” Raoul said in a news release.

The U.S. last month imposed taxes of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries, accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, charging that they have inadequately enforced bans on goods produced by forced labor.

The latest round of tariffs comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in February ruled that some tariffs imposed by Trump last year were unconstitutional. In March, the U.S. Court of International Trade determined that companies subjected to tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were entitled to refunds.

“The Court of International Trade and the U.S. Supreme Court have already found the Trump tariffs to be unlawful, and we are confident we will prevail this third time,” Raoul said.

In Illinois, government agencies buy a range of imported products, or products made with imported components, according to a news release from Raoul’s office.

“And because the costs of tariffs are passed on the purchaser, those agencies face higher prices for the goods they have to purchase — price increases that will have to be paid with state tax dollars,” the release said.

Over the course of 2025, the average tariff rate on U.S. imports increased from 2.6% to 13%, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The analysis from February found American consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of the costs of tariffs last year.

Tariffs imposed last year drove small-business owners to take on new debt, tap into retirement savings and raise prices, among other measures, according to a national survey last month from grassroots group We Pay the Tariffs.

The survey of 241 businesses in 40 states, included three in Chicago: yarn store Dropped Stitch, incense maker Genieco and furniture seller Moderne Living.

Vernon Hills toymaker Learning Resources, which was part of the tariff lawsuit that won in the Supreme Court, filed a new lawsuit last month along with several other small businesses in the Court of International Trade over the current round of tariffs. The second lawsuit was filed by Burlap and Barrel, a New York-based spice company, and Collective Horology, a watch retailer based in Ventura, California.

“I applaud the Illinois Attorney General and the coalition of state attorneys general for standing up against the unlawful Sec. 301 tariffs. The attack on Rule of Law must end,” Richard Woldenberg, CEO of toymakers Learning Resources and hand2mind, said in a news release.

The coalition suing the Trump administration on its latest tariffs include the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Contributing: AP