President Donald Trump’s administration is facing 25 new lawsuits from Democrat-led states over his latest round of tariffs on Monday.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading the joint lawsuit, arguing the tariffs handed down last month are a thinly-veiled attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling against Trump’s earlier import tariffs.
“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,” James said in a statement.
Trump’s latest tariffs hit 59 countries and the European Union, this time arguing they are committing “forced labor violations” by not cracking down on imports from certain sources.
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States joining New York in the lawsuit include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
The Trump administration ordered the U.S. trade representative to investigate the 60 trading partners for unfair trade practices earlier this year. The investigation then found that the 59 countries and the EU were not doing enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labor. Trump then pointed to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose tariffs on countries determined to be engaging in unfair trade practices.
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“The United States is using its lawful authority to obtain the elimination of unreasonable acts, policies, and practices that burden U.S. commerce,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told NBC News.
“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 U.S. commerce, including American workers, and must be addressed. Section 301 tariffs have proven to be a legally durable tool since the president’s first term, and they remain so now,” he added.
TRUMP’S SCOTUS PREDICTION TAKES ON NEW WEIGHT AHEAD OF BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP RULING
The lawsuit comes days after Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court over its rulings on his tariff policies and birthright citizenship, arguing they cost the U.S. “trillions.”
“Does anybody have any idea how much Money and Prestige the United States Supreme Court has cost our Nation with their negative Rulings on Birthright Citizenship and TARIFFS?” he asked in a Wednesday Truth Social post.
“The answer, TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS!” he said.
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