More than two dozen U.S. states filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to strike down U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on 60 trading partners — including Canada — over forced labour concerns, arguing he exceeded his authority.

The tariffs were announced last month by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over allegations that countries were not doing enough to stop the trading of goods produced with forced labour.

Nearly all U.S. imports are covered by the tariffs, which range from 10 to 12.5 per cent.

But the lawsuit, filed by Oregon and 24 other Democrat-led states in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, argues the tariffs are  simply meant to replace Trump’s previous temporary 10 per cent global tariff that expired just as the new duties were announced.

The timing “confirms that the tariff action is pretextual, arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to Section 301’s statutorily constrained purpose,” the statement of claim says.

The challenge comes after a group of American small businesses filed lawsuits seeking to block the new tariffs.

Canada has protested its inclusion in the tariff policy, arguing it has significant safeguards to keep forced labour products out of its supply chains and is pursuing additional measures.

More to come…