A coalition of 25 Democratic-led U.S. states sued the Trump administration, arguing that the latest tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners unlawfully exceed the president’s authority to impose import taxes.
On Monday, a coalition of states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York challenging President Donald Trump‘s latest tariffs, joining similar legal action by small U.S. businesses. The lawsuit was filed by states including Oregon and New York, all led by Democratic attorneys general or governors.
The latest global tariffs were imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law used to counter unfair trade practices. While previous administrations applied Section 301 to specific countries or industries, lawsuits from states and small businesses argue that Trump’s sweeping tariffs on over 99% of U.S. imports are unprecedented.
The states argued that the new tariffs unlawfully reused “forced labor” as a justification to reinstate duties that courts had already ruled illegal. They also said broad import taxes would not effectively address the underlying issue of forced labor worldwide.
