Washington: Twenty-five US states have launched a legal challenge against President Donald Trump’s effort to impose tariffs on 60 global economies — including India — for not acting against forced labour practices. The coalition of states led by the Democratic party argued that Trump’s effort to levy 10% or 12.5% tariffs on 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 marked a sweeping and unlawful attempt by the president to levy tariffs on global economies despite the failure of two of his previous efforts, which were struck down by US courts.
“For more than a year and a half, the president has unilaterally imposed tariffs without legal authority to do so. These tariffs have been sweeping and broad, encompassing virtually all imported products from scores of countries,” notes the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday with the New York-based Court of International Trade.
At the core of the lawsuit is the Trump administration’s use of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose tariffs on 60 countries for forced labour practices. Countries face either a 10% or 12.5% rate, depending on their efforts to remove forced labour from their supply chain. These Section 301 tariffs were imposed on countries that together account for over 99% of all US imports. The tariffs were announced last month with a 10% rate imposed on India as well as regional competitors like Bangladesh and Pakistan.
In their lawsuit, the 25 US states argue that the Trump administration was using the Section 301 tariffs to reconstruct the earlier tariff regimes that had already been found unlawful. Trump’s global reciprocal tariffs – which were first announced in April 2025 – were struck down by the US Supreme Court in February this year. The states argued that the Trump administration then levied temporary Section 122 tariffs — which were also subsequently struck down by the Court of International Trade — in order to replace the earlier reciprocal global tariffs. Just a day before the Section 122 tariffs were set to expire on July 24, the Section 301 forced labour tariffs were immediately imposed to replace them.
The suing states also raised questions about the “record” time in which the Section 301 tariff investigation into forced labour in 60 different economies was completed. The investigation was announced in March and announced its findings in July. They also pointed out that 10% tariffs were levied even on countries that were taking action to remove forced labour from their supply chain with no mechanism for the eventual removal of tariff. In addition, the states took issue with the Trump’s administration blanket use of 10% or 12.5% tariffs on 60 different economies rather than more tailored tariffs targeting specific countries.
“The Tariff Action is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law. The Plaintiff States oppose forced labour in all its forms and support protections for workers around the globe. But the Administration cannot use forced labour as a pretext to continue its illegal tariff scheme. The tariffs the United States Trade Representative (USTR) imposed are so broad that they defy the USTR’s own stated aims and make a mockery of the statute used to justify them,” the states argued in their court filing.
For its part, the White House has defended the legality of using Section 301 tariffs. “A foreign country’s failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour is unreasonable and burdens US commerce, including American workers, and must be addressed,” said White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai in a statement. “Section 301 tariffs have proven to be a legally durable tool since the President’s first term, and they remain so now,” he went on to add.