25 US states sue over Trump's new tariffs

A coalition of 25 US states, led by Democrats, filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump’s administration over new tariffs of up to 12.5% imposed on goods from 60 trading partners. The suit, submitted to the US Court of International Trade in New York, argues that Trump lacked the legal authority to impose the tariffs. It claims the administration cannot use the issue of forced labour as a pretext to continue a tariff scheme it deems unlawful. The legal action follows the US decision in late July to set tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on products from 60 major trading partners, including China, Japan, and the European Union. The Trump administration accused those countries of failing to halt imports of goods produced with forced labour. The ruling also struck down reciprocal tariffs imposed on a country-by-country basis, as well as additional levies on products from China, Canada, and Mexico. The coalition of states is asking the court to declare the new tariff policy illegal, halt its implementation, and order the refund of duties already paid by the plaintiffs. Critics argue the tariffs merely serve as a replacement for previous tariff policies that were struck down by courts, rather than addressing forced labour concerns. The lawsuit was filed by New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, and others. A similar lawsuit was previously filed by a group of small US businesses on 24 July, coinciding with the implementation of the new tariff policy.