Twenty five states sue Trump administration over latest global tariffs

A coalition of 25 Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration Monday, arguing President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by imposing sweeping tariffs on goods from 60 U.S. trading partners.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, challenges tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on most goods imported from the affected economies, which together, the states say, account for 99.4% of U.S. imports.

The states also allege the administration rushed through investigations of 60 economies, bypassed required country-specific consultations and failed to explain why nearly uniform tariff rates were appropriate for countries with widely different forced-labor import policies.

“There is no rational fit between the purported problem of forced labor in international supply chains and the blanket global tariffs the USTR imposed,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit counters the administration’s third attempt to preserve Trump’s broad tariff policy under a different law. The states argue the administration is improperly using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to replace duties previously rejected by the Supreme Court and the trade court.

The case is at least the second legal challenge to the new duties. A group of small businesses previously sued the administration, making a similar argument that Trump cannot use a new legal authority to recreate tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court.

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