Trump hit with lawsuit by 12 states over ‘whimsical’ tariffs - what we know so far

Twelve US states have taken legal action against President Donald Trump’s “immense and ever-changing” global tariffs, arguing that he unlawfully sidestepped Congress by issuing duties under an emergency economic law. The legal suit was filed on Wednesday in the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan.

The suit against Donald Trump comes from New York, Illinois, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, New Mexico, Vermont, Nevada, Delaware, Minnesota and Maine.

What the suit says?

The suit argues that Congress didn’t grant the President the necessary authority to impose the tariffs and that national trade policy “now hinges on the president’s whims rather than the sound exercise of his lawful authority.”

Trump “has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy,” the group said in the complaint.

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The lawsuit seeks a court order halting the tariffs, including the worldwide levies Trump paused on April 9 pointing out that the tariff amount will add tax burden to US consumer. 

The complaint targets Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the president invoked for what the suit describes as “the most damaging of his tariffs.”

The states argue the law was passed five decades ago to prevent presidents from abusing emergency powers, and that it can only be invoked to respond to an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” Trade deficits and other issues cited by Trump don’t meet that standard, the states allege.

“The statutory requirement of an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ is not met by the president’s declaration of emergency accompanying the Worldwide Tariff Order,” the states said in the complaint. “As the Worldwide Tariff Order acknowledges, ‘annual US goods trade deficits’ are ‘persistent’; thus, by definition, they are not ‘unusual and extraordinary.’”

What did the White House say?

Criticising the complaint, a spokesperson said, “The Trump Administration remains committed to using its full legal authority to confront the distinct national emergencies our country is currently facing — both the scourge of illegal migration and fentanyl flows across our border and the exploding annual US goods trade deficit.”