- Twenty five US states sued the Trump administration on Monday over new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners.
- The new Section 301 forced-labour tariffs came into effect in July, covering 99.4% of U.S. imports.
- Oregon and 24 other Democrat-led states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York challenging the tariffs as a pretext.
- The lawsuit claims the Trump administration cannot use forced labour as a pretext to continue its illegal tariff scheme.
- The timing of the new tariffs confirms that the tariff action is pretextual, arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to Section 301’s statutorily constrained purpose.
- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that IEEPA does not authorize the president to unilaterally impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners.
- In response to the ruling, Trump called the justices 'disloyal' and imposed new 10 per cent tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act.
- The Section 122 tariffs were ruled illegal by the U.S. Court of International Trade but remained in effect during the administration's appeal.
- The Section 122 tariffs were set to expire at midnight on July 24; the Section 301 tariffs were announced on the evening of July 23.
Twenty-five U.S. states, led by Oregon, have filed a lawsuit against President Trump's administration over new tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including Canada, the UK, and China.1
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, argues that the tariffs are a continuation of Trump's previous global tariffs that expired, claiming they are arbitrary and exceed the president's authority under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.38
“The tariffs the USTR imposed are so broad that they defy the USTR's own stated aims and make a mockery of the statute used to justify them,” the lawsuit states.
The states contend that the new duties do not effectively address the issue of forced labor, which the tariffs are purportedly designed to combat. “Despite losing every step of the way, Trump is trying yet again to inflict more chaos on working families and homegrown Oregon businesses,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
The tariffs cover nearly all U.S. imports, impacting 99.4% of goods, and have drawn criticism for being a pretext to impose a blanket global tariff policy.2
“President Trump's illegal tariffs are nothing more than a tax on hardworking families,” stated New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
The lawsuit follows a series of legal challenges against Trump's tariffs, including a recent Supreme Court ruling that limited his authority to impose such duties unilaterally.
The states argue that the new tariffs will not resolve the underlying issues of forced labor and will instead burden American consumers and businesses.
“Oregon AG Dan Rayfield accused Trump of trying "yet again to inflict more chaos on working families," while New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the tariffs "a tax on hardworking families." The suit follows small-business lawsuits filed a day after the duties were announced and the Supreme Court's February ruling against earlier IEEPA tariffs.”
Global News
BBC
