‘The biggest trade war since the Great Depression’: Trump administration sued by 5 small businesses over tariffs

Trump administration sued over sweeping import tariffs

A United States (US) legal advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, seeking to block a new wave of import tariffs it argues were imposed without proper legal authority.

Filed on Monday (14 April) in the US Court of International Trade, the lawsuit comes from the Liberty Justice Center, a nonpartisan organisation representing five small businesses allegedly harmed by the tariffs announced on 2 April, referred to by President Trump as “Liberation Day” duties.

Source: CNN

The plaintiffs include a women’s cycling apparel brand in Vermont and a Virginia-based firm that manufactures educational kits and musical instruments.

They contend that President Trump exceeded the limits of his presidential powers by unilaterally imposing the new trade measures.

‘No one person should have the power’, legal group says on Trump tariffs

The lawsuit argues that President Trump’s use of emergency powers to enact sweeping economic measures is unconstitutional, asserting that he does not have the authority to impose tariffs without congressional approval.

“No one person should have the power to impose taxes that have such vast global economic consequences,” said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center.

“The Constitution gives the power to set tax rates — including tariffs — to Congress, not the President.”

Ilya Somin, co-counsel on the case and a law professor at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School, added: “If starting the biggest trade war since the Great Depression based on a law that doesn’t even mention tariffs is not an unconstitutional usurpation of legislative power, I don’t know what is.”

President Trump’s executive order introduced a blanket 10% tariff on imports from all countries, with even higher duties for nations the administration accused of maintaining unfair barriers to US goods.

For instance, imports from China were hit with tariffs as high as 104%.

Source: Anadolu from Getty Images via The Guardian

The order cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law typically reserved for addressing national security threats.

However, the lawsuit argues there is no precedent for using IEEPA to justify tariffs, and that no previous president has claimed such authority.

Tariff lawsuit adds to Trump’s growing list of legal woes

The tariff lawsuit adds to President Trump’s mounting legal troubles, marking yet another front in the growing list of cases against him.

The others include:

1. Federal charges: Mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence
2. Criminal indictments: Alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia
3. Civil fraud case: The Trump Organization was found liable for inflating asset values in New York
4. Defamation and sexual abuse lawsuit: A jury awarded damages to writer E. Jean Carroll

The administration is also facing a similar legal challenge in Florida, where a small business owner is seeking to block tariffs targeting Chinese imports.

Also read: President Trump to impose 104% tariffs on China, up from previously announced 34%