Twenty-five U.S. states sue the Trump administration over newly imposed forced-labor tariffs, arguing the measures are unlawful. The lawsuit targets tariffs announced after the U.S. last month imposed double-digit duties on imports from 59 countries and the European Union. The administration says the tariffs are intended to address goods produced with forced labor that it contends have not been sufficiently curtailed.
The states’ complaint centers on the legality of the tariff framework. They argue the administration is effectively reissuing tariffs using forced-labor concerns as a justification to recreate trade restrictions that the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year. In their view, the new action circumvents the Supreme Court’s decision rather than curing the legal issues the Court identified.
The sources describe the suit as part of a broader legal dispute over how the government can apply forced-labor-related trade restrictions and whether it can use that rationale to impose tariffs in a manner consistent with the Constitution and existing law. The states seek to block the tariffs while the case proceeds.
