U.S. trade court weighs Trump’s ‘forced labor’ tariffs on 60 trading partners today

The U.S. Court of International Trade in New York is holding a hearing today, Wednesday, on the challenge to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners, which he justifies with the accusation that they are failing to prevent imports produced with forced labor, as Reuters reports.

The challenge to the tariffs was brought by four small American businesses and 25 Democratic-led states, which argue that the tariffs far exceed the president’s authority. The case will be heard by a three-judge panel — one appointed by Donald Trump, one by Barack Obama and one by Joe Biden. The panel is not expected to decide immediately, but will issue a written decision later.

The tariffs were imposed at the end of July and range from 10% to 12.5%, covering more than 99% of goods imported into the United States. Critics, according to Reuters, say the administration is using “forced labor” as a pretext to revive the claim to an unlimited global tariff power — a claim that U.S. courts have repeatedly struck down.

This legal challenge comes after the Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s sweeping tariffs on February 20, finding that the president cannot use emergency economic powers to impose tariffs unilaterally. Trump reacted by first imposing a temporary global tariff of 10% based on another U.S. law; after that expired, he invoked “another legal authority” to impose the “forced labor” tariffs that are now being challenged.

The Trump administration argues in court filings that it conducted real investigations into the failure of the 60 trading partners to prevent imports produced with forced labor, and that the tariffs are justified for each of them.