A coalition of 25 Democratic-led states has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its latest tariffs, alleging that the president has overstepped his legal authority to impose the levies.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade on Monday, targets new double-digit tariffs imposed on 60 trading partners last month under the pretext of curbing imports of goods produced with forced labor.

These tariffs took effect just as temporary tariffs expired, which Trump had introduced after the Supreme Court struck down his flagship "Liberation Day" tariffs in February. New York Attorney General Letitia James stated, "After losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs."

All states involved, including Oregon and New York, have Democratic attorneys general or governors. In response, White House spokesman Kush Desai defended the tariffs as a lawful response to unfair trade practices, saying, "A foreign country's failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is unreasonable and burdens US commerce."

Trump, who argues that high tariffs will revive U.S. manufacturing, has overturned decades of Washington policy favoring free trade. Invoking the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), he imposed tariffs on imports from nearly all countries, citing the trade deficit as a national emergency. However, the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA did not authorize such tariffs, forcing the administration to establish a refund process.

To recoup lost revenue, Trump turned to temporary 10% worldwide tariffs, but they expired on July 24. The new tariffs, imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, affect over 99% of U.S. imports. The states' complaint argues that "forced labor" is a pretext to reimpose tariffs already ruled illegal, and that a sweeping import tax will not address real forced labor issues globally.

Source: www.aljazeera.com