Donald Trump
Twelve states have sued the Donald Trump administration in the US Court of International Trade in New York over its tariff policy.
Trump shocked the world earlier this month when he announced a “baseline” tariff of 10 percent on all countries, with higher rates as much as 50 percent for the “worst offenders”.
The lawsuit said the policy is unlawful and has brought chaos to the American economy, adding that it has been subject to the president’s “whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority”.
The states listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.
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The states challenged Trump’s claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The lawsuit said only congress has the power to impose tariffs and that the president can only invoke the act when there is an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad.
The states asked the court to deem the tariffs illegal and to block government agencies and its officers from enforcing them.
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“By claiming the authority to impose immense and ever-changing tariffs on whatever goods entering the United States he chooses, for whatever reason he finds convenient to declare an emergency, the President has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy,” the lawsuit said.
In a release, Kris Mayes, Arizona attorney general, called Trump’s tariff scheme “insane”, adding that it was “not only economically reckless” but also “illegal”.
On his part, William Tong, Connecticut attorney general, said Trump’s “lawless and chaotic tariffs” are a massive tax on Connecticut families and a disaster for Connecticut businesses and jobs.
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