More than a dozen states, most Democrat-led nations, sued President Trump on Wednesday, thinking his tariffs were not authorized to “collect tariffs as freely as he is here.”
It argues that only Congress has the power to legislate tariffs, and states require courts to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing what they say is illegal tariffs.
“These statutes reflect a national trade policy that now depends on the president’s whimsicality rather than the reasonable exercise of his legitimate authority,” the attorney general of the U.S. Court of International Trade sued.
States, including New York, Illinois and Oregon, are the latest parties to impose tariffs on the Trump administration. Their case comes after California filed its own lawsuit last week, with Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state attorney general accusing the administration of escalating a trade war that has caused “direct and irreparable damage” to the state’s economy.
Oregon officials and businesses in the lawsuit filed Wednesday also expressed concern about the state’s trade-dependent economy and its vulnerability in the sportswear industry, due to the tariffs.
“When the president pushes for an illegal policy that raises prices at grocery stores and raises utility bills, we don’t have a luxury standing rate,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement. “These tariffs reach every corner of our lives – from the checkout line to the doctor’s office – we have a responsibility to back off.”
When asked about the latest lawsuit, White House spokesman Kush Desai called it a “witch hunt” by Democrats.
“The Trump administration remains committed to using its full legal power to face the unique national emergency that our country is currently facing,” he said, “the scourge of illegal immigration and the scourge of fentanyl on our borders and the explosive U.S. goods trade deficit.”
Other states in the lawsuit are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico and Vermont. Although Nevada and Vermont have Republican governors, all states have democratic lawyers.
Mr. Trump’s tariffs shocked and upended the global trade industry. He imposes a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, 25% in Canada, and sets a 10% tariff on almost all imported goods from other countries.
The moves also raised legal challenges from other entities, including two members of Blackfitt Nation who filed federal lawsuits against Canadian tariffs in Montana, claiming they violated tribal treaty rights. Legal organizations such as the Liberty Justice Center and the new Civil Liberties Union have also filed lawsuits.
“I’m glad that Oregon and other states are joining our battle,” said Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University.
