The Trump administration imposed new tariffs on goods from more than 80 countries, alleging they have failed to effectively prohibit the use of forced labor practices.
The new tariffs were brought under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which has been used extensively — but some experts say Trump's use of the law could be blocked in court.
Two small businesses sued Trump and his administration hours after the new tariffs took effect.
Trump appears to see Section 301 as a key pathway for more tariffs. On Friday, he declared that the U.S. will "immediately" start a 301 investigation into the EU in retaliation for the hefty fines it has imposed on U.S. tech giants.
The legal battle over the newest tariffs has already begun. Just hours after they took effect, two small businesses sued, arguing that the government is using Section 301 as a pretext to re-create the same global tariff regime that the Supreme Court torpedoed five months earlier.
The new lawsuit was brought by the Liberty Justice Center, which represented plaintiffs in the successful challenge of Trump's use of IEEPA.
Other experts contacted by CNBC agreed that the Section 301 tariffs are clearly unlawful.
