US trade court probes Trump's 'forced labor' tariffs

Four small businesses and 25 states led by Democrats challenged President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners, including the EU and China. The tariffs, imposed on nearly all US imports, were based on allegations that trading partners were not doing enough to stop forced labor. The US Court of International Trade, a panel of three judges appointed by Presidents Trump, Obama, and Biden, examined the legal and factual foundations of the tariffs during arguments in Manhattan.

The lawsuits contend that the tariffs exceed the president's authority and that the Trump administration misused a law that provides limited tariff power. The administration's attorney, Eric Hamilton, claimed the US Trade Representative had meticulously evaluated the prevalence of goods produced with forced labor globally, and that the government did not need to prove a "metaphysical certainty" of a "burden" on US commerce to impose tariffs.

The plaintiffs sought the court to invalidate the tariffs or order the government to redo its investigation with more detail and justification. The court may issue a more limited ruling, asking the government to re-do the investigation to provide more specific information about forced labor in other countries.