25 US States Sue to Block Trump’s Section 301 Forced-Labor Tariffs

Twenty-five US states led by Democratic governors sued on August 3, challenging the Trump administration’s “forced-labor tariffs” under Section 301 of the Trade Act as unlawful.

According to the US Court of International Trade, the states — including New York, California and Massachusetts — said in their complaint that the Office of the United States Trade Representative exceeded its legal authority by using Section 301 to impose what amounted to broad-based tariffs. They asked the court to halt enforcement of the duties.

The states argued that the tariffs are an attempt to effectively revive reciprocal tariffs that the Supreme Court had already invalidated, this time under a different legal theory. In February, the Supreme Court ruled that reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unlawful because they encroached on Congress’s taxing power. The administration then temporarily imposed a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act, but that measure recently expired after reaching its 150-day legal limit.

The USTR has imposed new “forced-labor tariffs” of 10% to 12.5% on major trading partners since July 24 under Section 301, citing imports of goods produced with forced labor.

Kim Dong-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter, 3code@hankyung.com