Twenty-five US states have sued the Trump administration over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February.
The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labour.
The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs President Donald Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.
"There is no rational fit between the purported problem of forced labour in international supply chains and the blanket global tariffs the USTR imposed," the coalition of states argued in a court filing, referring to the US Trade Representative's office.
The challenge is related to Trump's latest salvo of tariffs of between 10 and 12.5 percent imposed against 60 trading partners, forming the bulk of US imports, last month.
The tariffs were imposed after probes by the USTR's office over allegations of "forced labour," conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Trump has argued that US trading partners have been taking advantage of the world's largest economy, and has sought to use tariffs as leverage to strike new trade deals.
His first round of tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, was struck down by the US Supreme Court in February.
He replaced those with a 10-percent global levy, which expired in July.
The new Section 301 tariffs replaced that levy, taking effect as the 10-percent tariff expired on July 24.
Of the 25 states, 23 have Democratic governors while two, Nevada and Vermont, are led by Republicans.
In their court filing, states argued that the Section 301 probes were "a pretextual and unlawful effort to exert unfettered tariff power."
The document lays out a timeline of Trump administration officials' statements, arguing that the investigations were rushed and prejudged when they were initiated.
"The Tariff Action is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law," the complaint says.
