25 U.S. states sue Trump administration over Section 301 tariffs

A coalition of 25 U.S. states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, arguing that President Donald Trump exceeded his legal authority by imposing sweeping new tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners, according to a court document.



The complaint, filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade, challenges the recently enacted levies of 10 percent or 12.5 percent on the vast majority of goods imported from the affected economies. According to the states, these economies collectively account for 99.4 percent of U.S. imports.



The coalition is asking the court to block the tariffs, declare them unlawful, and order refunds for the duties already paid.



The legal challenge centers on the administration's effort to preserve Trump's broad tariff regime after federal courts rejected two earlier versions imposed under different statutory frameworks. The states argue that federal officials made use of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and (the so-called) "forced-labor" concerns merely as a pretext to rapidly recreate nearly identical global duties that the Supreme Court previously struck down in February.