US states mount court challenge to Trump's tariffs

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

May 21, 2025 3:07 PM EDT Updated 2 hours ago


NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Twelve U.S. states asked a federal court on Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, arguing that he overstepped his authority by declaring a national emergency to impose across-the-board taxes on imports from nations that sell more to the U.S. than they buy. A three-judge panel of the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade is hearing arguments in a lawsuit brought by the Democratic attorneys general of New York, Illinois, Oregon, and nine other states.

They say the Republican president has sought a "blank check" to regulate trade "at his whim." The states claim the president badly misinterpreted a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify the tariffs. That law is meant to address "unusual and extraordinary" threats to the U.S., they have said.

Brian Marshall, an attorney for the state of Oregon, told the judges that IEEPA requires presidential actions to be closely tied to a specific emergency. A president cannot use tariffs or other actions "only for leverage" under IEEPA, Marshall said. Trump has incorrectly claimed that "he can set tariffs of any amount, on any country, for any length of time, and no court can review it," Marshall said.

Trump has said the decades-long U.S. history of importing more than it exports is a national emergency that has harmed U.S. manufacturers. But the states argue the U.S. trade deficit is not an "emergency" and that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs at all. The same three-judge panel heard arguments last week in a similar case brought by five small businesses, and it is expected to issue a decision in the coming weeks.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-states-mount-court-challenge-trumps-tariffs-2025-05-21/

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REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143446294