The attorneys general of 12 US states, led by Arizona and Oregon, have sued the Donald Trump administration to stop the tariff war declared by the US president. The lawsuit claims that Trump is abusing the law to impose his tariffs.
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«“President Trump’s insane tariff scheme is not only economically reckless — it’s illegal,” said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. The lawsuit was also signed by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont, all of whom represent the Democratic Party.
The attorneys general have called on the U.S. Court of International Trade to invalidate Trump’s tariff orders and block U.S. customs officials from enforcing them.
A coalition of attorneys general called Trump’s invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose tariffs improper. “The law only applies when the emergency constitutes an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ from abroad and does not give the president authority to impose tariffs,” Mayes explained.
Donald Trump imposed the tariffs under a national emergency, citing the flow of drugs into the country allegedly facilitated by China, Mexico and Canada. The drugs, he claimed, were smuggled into the US from Mexico and Canada, with the ingredients for making them coming mainly from China. Trump also imposed so-called “reciprocal tariffs,” arguing that the trade deficit was a threat to US national security and the economy.
In turn, the attorneys general indicated in the lawsuit that the “unusual and extraordinary threats” described by Trump were in fact neither extraordinary nor unusual.
«The tariffs are also not intended to “combat” the alleged emergency because they are intended, at least in part, to raise revenue,” the lawsuit says. The document also notes that the tariffs have directly resulted in financial market instability and disruption to the stability of the U.S. and global economies.
The lawsuit could take years to resolve, but it could potentially limit the president’s ability to use tariffs as a policy tool. Meanwhile, Trump has signaled a willingness to de-escalate the trade war with China as it disrupts stock markets and supply chains.