A coalition of twelve states initiated legal action against President Donald Trump and his administration on Wednesday, requesting a judicial ruling that his recently imposed tariffs on foreign imports are unlawful.
“The president does not possess the authority to raise taxes arbitrarily, yet that is precisely what President Trump has been doing with these tariffs,” New York Attorney General Letitia James stated in connection with the lawsuit.
The filing was lodged in the U.S. Court of International Trade located in Washington, D.C.
The lawsuit contends that the president lacks the authority to impose tariffs without sufficient justification under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the legislation cited by Trump in support of his tariff imposition.
This legal challenge follows a similar action taken by a group of five small businesses, which filed a lawsuit against Trump in the same court over the legality of the new tariffs, raising comparable concerns.
On Tuesday, a panel of three judges in the court rejected a request from the plaintiffs in that case for a temporary restraining order that would have halted Trump’s new tariffs while the litigation is ongoing.
The states involved in the latest lawsuit alongside New York include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont.
“No previous president has employed IEEPA to impose tariffs. In the nearly fifty years since the enactment of IEEPA, no other president has enacted tariffs based on any declared national emergency, despite various global anti-narcotics initiatives led by the U.S. and persistent trade deficits,” the lawsuit claims.
“Given that these tariffs are unlawful, this Court should declare them void, prohibit the Defendant agencies and officials from enforcing them, and invalidate the agency actions that implemented them.”
Finance Newso has reached out to the White House for a statement regarding the lawsuit.
Since assuming office, Trump has enacted a series of executive actions that have resulted in significant tariffs on foreign imports, including a 145% tariff on Chinese goods and 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico. Most imports from other nations face a 10% tariff under his administration.
“The Constitution bestows upon Congress, not the President, the ‘Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,'” the lawsuit emphasizes.
“By asserting the ability to impose substantial and constantly changing tariffs on any goods entering the United States at his discretion, the President has disrupted the constitutional framework and caused turmoil in the U.S. economy,” the document states.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes remarked, “President Trump’s reckless tariff strategy is not only economically detrimental—it is illegal.”
“Arizona cannot bear the burden of President Trump’s massive tax increase. Regardless of claims made by the White House, tariffs act as a tax that will ultimately be passed on to consumers in Arizona,” Mayes added.
