New York Attorney General Leticia James will speak at a press conference held in New York City on February 14th, 2025.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Dozens of states sued President Donald Trump and his administration on Wednesday, seeking a court order declaring his new tariffs on foreign imports illegal.
“The president doesn’t have the power to raise taxes on a whim, but that’s exactly what President Trump does with these tariffs,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. Litigation.
The lawsuit was filed in US International Trade Court.
The president claims he has no authority to arbitrarily impose tariffs under the arbitrarily International Emergency Economic Power LawUS laws Trump quoted when implementing his tariff policies.
The civil complaint comes more than a week after a group of five small businesses filed a similar lawsuit against Trump in the same court, challenging the legality of the new tariffs for the same reasons.
On Tuesday, a three-judicial panel of judges in the court rejected a motion by the plaintiffs in that case. Temporary restraint order It would suspend Trump’s new tariffs until the outcome of the incident comes to light.
In addition to New York, plaintiffs in new lawsuits filed Wednesday include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont.
“No other presidents have used Ieepa to impose tariffs. In nearly 50 years since Ieepa was enacted, no president has imposed tariffs based on the existence of a national emergency, despite the US-led global drug campaign and years of trade obstacles.
“Because these tariffs are illegal, this court must declare that they are not valid, prohibiting the defendant agencies and officers from enforcing them, and eliminate the actions of the agencies that implement them.”
CNBC requested the White House to comment on the lawsuit.
Since taking office, Trump has issued a series of executive orders imposing tariffs on foreign imports, including a 145% tariff on products made in China and a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico. Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on imports from most other countries around the world.
“The Constitution is assigned to Congress, not the President, and “the power to collect taxes, duties, fraud and goods,” the lawsuit states.
“By asserting his authority to impose immense and ever-changing tariffs on his chosen goods entering the United States, the president has improved the constitutional order and caused disruption to the American economy on reasons he finds useful in declaring a state of emergency,” the lawsuit says.
Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays said “President Trump’s insane tariff scheme is not only economically reckless, but also illegal.”
“Arizona cannot afford President Trump’s massive tax hike,” Mays said. “No matter what the White House claims, tariffs are taxes that are passed on to Arizona consumers.”
