25 States Sue Trump Global Tariffs, White House Accused of Using Legal Cover

Illustration of global trade. A total of 25 US states have sued Donald Trump's global tariffs, which are considered to be illegal. Illustration photo: Pexels.

JAKARTA - The Donald Trump administration is again sued over global tariffs. A total of 25 US states and commonwealths have asked the court to block tariffs of 10 percent to 12.5 percent which they value as violating the law.

Anadolu Agency, quoted Tuesday, August 4, reported that the lawsuit was filed on Monday with the US International Trade Court. The coalition accused the White House of using the global forced labor investigation as a legal cover to revive trade barriers that had previously been canceled by federal courts.

The tariff is a levy on imported goods. In practice, this cost can also be felt in the price of goods paid by consumers.

In the lawsuit, the US Trade Representative Office or USTR was said to have conducted a hasty investigation of 60 economies in just two and a half months. According to the plaintiffs, such a process usually takes more than a year.

The states also judged the Trump administration had already determined the outcome of the investigation. They noted that tariffs were applied equally to raw materials and finished goods, without looking at how much forced labor practices occurred in certain markets.

"No matter how this administration tries to justify it, our laws and our Constitution are clear that the president has no authority to impose broad tariffs on any country he wishes," New York Attorney General Letitia James said.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the policy a "tax on hardworking families" because it would raise the cost of food and building materials.

In the court documents, the plaintiffs stated that the Trump administration's third attempt to impose global tariffs through Article 301 of the Trade Act still violated the law.

The lawsuit describes the Trump administration's actions as arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to the law.

The state coalition also assessed that the executive branch was trying to take over tax authority from Congress. They emphasized that tax authority was in the hands of Congress.

In addition, the Trump administration was accused of violating the Administrative Procedure Act.

Through the lawsuit, the plaintiffs asked the court to declare the tariff illegal and cancel it.

The states joining the lawsuit are Oregon, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The White House rejected the lawsuit. The Trump administration said the move was within the legal authority of the government.

"The United States is using its legal authority to obtain the elimination of unreasonable actions, policies, and practices that burden US trade," White House spokesman Kush Desai said, as reported by CNBC.

Desai said the failure of foreign countries to enforce labor standards directly harms American workers and must be addressed.

He also said that tariffs under Article 301 have been a legally tested tool since Trump's first term. According to him, the instrument is still used in US trade policy.