IP Law Daily, VITAL BRIEFING—Trump’s 'forced labor' tariffs face skepticism, lawsuits, (Aug 7, 2026)
Twenty-five states along with a cadre of small U.S. importers have commenced legal challenges in response to the Trump administration’s latest round of global tariffs.
In this edition of Tariff Insights, Thomas Thompson explores the some of the court challenges and emerging skepticism in response to the latest worldwide tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The latest tariffs are premised upon the theory that all major U.S. trading partners have impermissibly benefitted from importing goods created by forced labor. Some of the items Thompson’s discusses in the article include:
Lawsuits filed in the Court of International Trade by a New York spice importer, a watchmaker based in California, and a small educational toymaker from Illinois, some of whom were litigants in the Supreme Court case decided earlier in the year which overturned tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Court filings by 25 state attorneys general that assert the newly imposed tariffs are arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law, and moreover are so broad that they defy the U.S. Trade Representative’s own stated aims, and make a mockery of the statute used to justify them.
Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showing that for most of 2025 more than 90 percent of the price effects of Trump administration tariffs were borne by consumers.
To read the piece, click on Trump’s “forced labor” tariffs face skepticism, lawsuits.
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