A coalition of 25 Democratic-led US states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday.
The lawsuit, filed in the US Court of International Trade, argues that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by imposing broad tariffs on goods from 60 US trading partners.
The states allege that the administration is using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to preserve a wide tariff regime following previous tariff efforts that were blocked by the courts.
According to the complaint, the new duties merely replace tariffs that were previously struck down by the US Supreme Court. This follows a previous lawsuit from a group of small businesses, which argued that the administration cannot use new legal authority to recreate tariffs invalidated by the US Supreme Court.
Scope of the tariffs
The new tariffs consist of 10% or 12.5% duties on imports from 60 US trading partners.
Of total US imports accounted for by the 60 trading partners targeted by the tariffs
The lawsuit also alleges that the Trump administration bypassed country-specific investigations that are required by law before tariffs can be imposed.
