Twenty five states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday over a wave of tariffs against dozens of countries.
The US says the tariffs, which range between 10% and 12.5%, were imposed due to trading partners – including the UK, China and the European Union – failing to properly tackle forced labour.
In a legal document seen by the BBC, the coalition of Democratic states said the decision was “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.”
In response, White House spokesman Kush Desai said the US is “using its lawful authority” to address practices that burden American businesses.
Desai added that any foreign countries failing to deal with the importation of goods produced with forced labour was “unreasonable” and must be addressed.
The new tariffs, which came into effect in July, were imposed under Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act, legislation which is designed to target nations that use forced labour.
The duties cover 99.4% of US imports, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
During Trump’s first term, he used Section 301 to impose trade tariffs on China and they survived challenges in court.
Desai added: “Section 301 tariffs have proven to be a legally durable tool since the president’s first term, and they remain so now.”
The lawsuit said the Trump administration “cannot use forced labour as a pretext to continue its illegal tariff scheme.”
“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,” it said.
