A group of 12 U.S. states has sued the administration of then-President Donald Trump, stating that so-called "illegal tariffs" are in a filing submitted to the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York.
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Vermont attorneys general were jointly asking on Wednesday that the federal government be prevented in court from imposing such contentious tariffs.
Under the lawsuit, the administration's approach has subjected U.S. trade policy to Trump's whim rather than being guided by legal legal processes, the lawsuit said. The filing seeks the court to declare that the tariff measures are unlawful and enjoin any federal agency or employee from enforcing them, Xinhua News Agency reported.
At the crux of the states' argument is that the president can use the Emergency Economic Powers Act only when there's a "rare and extraordinary threat" coming from outside the country.
The report believes that, "By asserting the power to unilaterally impose sweeping and variable tariffs on any imports at will, claiming to do so in the guise of an emergency, the President has disrupted constitutional checks and balances and sent the U.S. economy into turmoil."
A statement from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James highlighted that Congress never authorized such executive power over tariffs. "The administration acted illegally by imposing these tariffs through executive decrees, social media announcements, and agency directives," the statement said.
"These tariffs are not only illegal—they are a grave threat to economic stability, risking higher inflation, more job loss, and broader financial harm," James warned.
Echoing the same sentiments, New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated on Wednesday, "President Trump's dangerous tariff policies have raised costs for regular Americans and have devastated the national economy."
Responding to the lawsuit, White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended the administration's position, saying, "We are committed to addressing this national emergency, which is devastating American industries and harming workers, with every tool at our disposal—whether it be tariffs or diplomacy."
On April 2, Trump issued an executive order under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, formally declaring a national emergency and imposing so-called "reciprocal tariffs" against all of the country's trading partners.
The executive move has elicited widespread outrage domestically and internationally, causing chaos in financial markets and continuing to fuel controversy over presidential authority in trade matters.
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