US court hears lawsuits against President Trump’s new tariffs — CNBC

In the United States, a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in Manhattan is hearing lawsuits by small businesses and Democratic-led states against President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. The plaintiffs argue that the tariffs imposed by the administration under Section 301 exceed the authority provided by law, CNBC reports.

Tariffs for 86 countries

The new rates of 10% or 12.5% apply to goods from 86 countries and cover 99.4% of US imports. The Trump administration said it introduced them in response to these countries’ insufficiently effective enforcement of bans on trade in goods made using forced labor.

This is the third court attempt in less than two years to challenge Trump’s broad tariffs on the vast majority of imports into the United States. In February, the US Supreme Court struck down the so-called reciprocal tariffs that the president introduced in April 2025. According to CNBC, the ruling forced the administration to refund more than $100 billion.

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Arguments of the parties

On the day the Supreme Court issued its decision, Trump announced a global 10% tariff under another provision of the Trade Act of 1974 — Section 122. These powers allowed the tariff to be applied for only 150 days. While it was in effect, the Court of International Trade ruled against the tariffs, but an appeals court stayed that decision until their term expired.

When these tariffs expired in July, the administration introduced new duties under Section 301 of the same law. The plaintiffs believe that the forced labor argument was used as a pretext to restore the global tariff regime that had already been struck down by the Supreme Court. Lawyers for the US Department of Justice insist that the Office of the US Trade Representative acted in accordance with the text, purpose, and objectives of Section 301.

At the end of July, Trump told Fox News that the Section 301 tariffs do the same thing as the duties struck down by the Supreme Court. Sarah Albrecht, president and CEO of the legal nonprofit Liberty Justice Center, told CNBC that these remarks strengthen the plaintiffs’ position. Liberty Justice Center filed one of the lawsuits against the new tariffs.