25 States Sue Trump Over New Tariffs on Forced Labor Imports

Twenty-five states have joined forces to sue the Trump administration over new tariffs imposed on 59 countries and the European Union. The tariffs, which range from 10% to 12.5%, were put in place to address imports produced by forced labor.

The lawsuit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, claims that the new tariffs are a 'pretext' for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February. The administration had turned to temporary 10% worldwide tariffs after losing at the Supreme Court, but they expired on July 24.

Trump invoked Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose the forced-labor tariffs, which have been used before to target unfair trade practices. However, the states' lawsuit argues that the administration didn't adequately establish its case against each specific economy and spell out how the tariffs will eliminate the specified practice.

Barry Appleton, a law professor, notes that while Section 301 has been used before, the 'nearly copy-pasted' nature of the new tariffs could pose a challenge to defend in court. He believes that the government's defense will be based on staying within the guardrails Congress drew for Section 301.