US states sue to block Trump tariffs impacting dozens of countries

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesByOsmond ChiaBusiness reporterPublished4 August 2026, 03:00 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoTwenty five US states sued the administration of US President Donald Trump on Monday over new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners.

The tariffs came into effect in July, targeting countries including the UK and China as well as the European Union, over Washington's contention that they have failed to properly tackle forced labour.

In a legal document seen by the BBC, the coalition of Democratic states said the decision was "arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law."

In response, White House spokesman Kush Desai said: "The US is using its lawful authority" to address practices that burden American businesses.

Desai added that any foreign country's failing to deal with the importation of goods produced with forced labour was "unreasonable" and must be addressed.

The new tariffs were imposed on major trading partners like Japan, Brazil and Taiwan under Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act, legislation which is designed to target nations that use forced labour.

The lawsuit said the Trump administration "cannot use forced labour as a pretext to continue its illegal tariff scheme."

"The tariffs the 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," it said.

"President Trump's illegal tariffs are nothing more than a tax on hardworking families," said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

"Despite losing every step of the way, Trump is trying yet again to inflict more chaos on working families and homegrown Oregon businesses," Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement.

"We're all paying the price for these unlawful tariffs, not foreign governments," he added.

Several of the affected trading partners have expressed disappointment over the new tariffs, with Brazil and Japan's governments separately calling the measures "unjustified".