A dozen US states have joined together on a lawsuit aiming to block President Donald Trump’s spate of tariffs that have upended global trade.
The suit, which is led by New York’s governor and attorney general, argues that the president lacked the authority to impose the levies. It notes such tariffs must be approved by the US Congress.
Twelve states joined the lawsuit, which was filed with the United States Court of International Trade.
The White House accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of “prioritizing a witch hunt against President Trump over protecting the safety and wellbeing of their constituents”.
White House spokesman Kush Desai added that the “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 U.S. goods trade deficit.”
The lawsuit states that tariffs must be approved by Congress and questioned Trump invoking a 1970s law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to enact the levies.
“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 states.
Trump invoked the IEEPA as the basis for several of his tariffs against China, Mexico, Canada, and other countries.
