Twenty-five US states filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump’s administration over tariffs imposed on dozens of trading partners, including the UK, at rates of between 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent.
The duties took effect in July and were imposed under Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act, legislation designed to target nations that use forced labour. The US says they were applied because trading partners, among them the UK, China and the European Union, failed to properly tackle forced labour.
The tariffs cover 99.4 per cent of US imports, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which set out its final action in the 60 investigations in July.
In a legal document seen by the BBC, the coalition of Democratic states said the decision was “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.”
The lawsuit said the Trump administration “cannot use forced labour as a pretext to continue its illegal tariff scheme.”
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