MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Thousands of US companies sue the Trump administration over tariffs on trade with China

Addressing the US General Assembly, Francis said the worldwide pandemic had highlighted the urgent need to promote public health and ensure access to vaccines

About 3,500 U.S. companies, including Tesla Inc, Ford Motor Co, Target Corp, Walgreen Co, and Home Depot have sued the Trump administration in the last two weeks over the imposition of tariffs on more than US$300 billion in Chinese-made goods.

The suits, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, named U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the Customs and Border Protection agency and challenge what they call the unlawful escalation of the U.S. trade war with China through the imposition of a third and fourth round of tariffs.

The legal challenges from a wide variety of companies argue the Trump administration failed to impose tariffs within a required 12-month period and did not comply with administrative procedures.

The companies challenge the administration's “unbounded and unlimited trade war impacting billions of dollars in goods imported from the People's Republic of China by importers in the United States,” according to a suit filed by auto parts manufacturer Dana Corp .

The suits challenge tariffs in two separate groups known as List 3 and List 4A.“ List 3 includes 25per cent tariffs on about US$200 billion in imports, while List 4A included 7.5per cent tariffs on US$120 billion in goods.

One suit argues the administration cannot expand tariffs to other Chinese imports ”for reasons untethered to the unfair intellectual property policies and practices it originally investigated.“

Companies filing suit include heavy truck manufacturer Volvo Group North America , U.S. auto parts retailer Pep Boys, clothing company Ralph Lauren, Sysco Corp , guitar manufacturer Gibson Brands, Lenovo's U.S. unit, Dole Packaged Foods, a unit of Itochu Corp and golf equipment manufacturer Callaway Golf Co.

Home Depot's suit noted it faces tariffs on bamboo flooring, cordless drills and many other Chinese-made products. Walgreen, a unit of the Walgreen Boots Alliance, said it is paying higher tariffs on products like ”seasonal novelties; party, first aid, and office supplies; and household essentials.”

On Sept. 15, the World Trade Organization found the United States breached global trading rules by imposing multibillion-dollar tariffs in Trump’s trade war with China.