The lawsuits mark the latest effort to block the administration’s trade policy in federal court.
NEW YORK (AP) — Trump’s tariffs are headed back to court.
Two lawsuits filed by small businesses are challenging Trump’s sweeping tariffs announced on Thursday that it is imposing double-digit tariffs on 60 trading partners.
Fees, implemented under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 because what the Trump administration says is the failure of countries to prevent imports made by forced labor cover 99% of US imports. Critics say the goal is less to prevent forced labor imports and more to replace the worldwide tariffs Trump imposed last year. was overturned by the Supreme Court in February. They came all the same the provisional 10% worldwide tariffs – which had also been challenged in court – expired.
Educational toy company Learning Resources, which was part of the tariff suit he won in the High Courtfiled a new lawsuit along with several other small businesses at the Court of International Trade on Friday over the current round of tariffs.
The second lawsuit was filed by Burlap and Barrel, a New York-based spice company, and Collective Horology, a Ventura, California-based watch retailer. They are represented by the Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian advocacy group.
Both lawsuits argue that the government did not adequately state its case against each specific economy or establish how the tariffs will eliminate the specified practice for which they are imposed, as required by Section 301.
“Forced labor is morally indefensible, but an important objective does not give the government permission to ignore the law,” said Sara Albrecht, president and CEO of the Liberty Justice Center. “The administration allowed a global fee to expire and immediately replaced it with another under a different statute. Changing the statute does not change the law.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Experts say it may be more difficult to successfully challenge the current round of tariffs than previous rounds. Trump used Section 301 to impose huge tariffs on China in his first term, and they survived court challenges.
Unlike the Section 122 tariffs that expired Friday, “these tariffs will be with us for a long time,” said attorney Patrick Childress, a partner at Holland & Knight and a former U.S. trade official.
Even if countries implement the exact policies the US wants, he said, they will still have to prove they are implementing them to Washington’s satisfaction before the tariffs are lifted. “This suggests that no short-term path to nationwide relief from the new Section 301 fees will be available.”
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By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer
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