A U.S. trade court heard the challenge Sept 30 to Trump's forced-labor tariffs on 60 countries. Will it strike them down by Oct 16?

The U.S. Court of International Trade had not ruled on Section 301 forced-labor tariffs by October 16, so the duties on 60 trading partners remained in place. A three-judge panel heard oral arguments on September 30 in the consolidated In re: Section 301 Forced Labor Cases, which includes Burlap and Barrel v. United States and a 25-state challenge led by Oregon. Plaintiffs argued the administration skipped the legally required country-by-country findings that forced labor burdens U.S. commerce before imposing the duties, which took effect July 24 at 10% to 12.5% on imports from the EU and 59 other countries. A Justice Department lawyer countered that the government did not need "metaphysical certainty" on that burden before acting. The panel gave no timeline for a decision, and neither pending lawsuit paused collection of the tariffs, so importers kept paying duties that could later be refunded if the tariffs are struck down. The case relies on Section 301 trade authority rather than the emergency economic powers the Supreme Court rejected earlier in 2026, a distinction the administration is counting on to survive judicial review this time. Sixty-seven percent of the Predict Six community expected the court to strike the tariffs down by October 16; it did not, extending a now months-long wait for a ruling that could still arrive at any time.