Trump enacted economic plan 'unlawfully' despite likelihood of 'severe damage': lawsuit

Five owner-operated businesses have filed a lawsuit against the tariffs in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

The Liberty Justice Center and law professor Ilya Somin joined together to form the legal team for the five businesses, which includes VOS Selections, Inc. Plastic Services and Products, Genova Pipe, Microkits, FishUSA, and Terry Precision Cycling.

"The President of the United States claims the authority to unilaterally levy tariffs on goods imported from any and every country in the world, at any rate, calculated via any methodology—or mere caprice—immediately, with no notice, or public comment, or phase-in, or delay in implementation, despite massive economic impacts that are likely to do severe damage to the global economy," the lawsuit filing begins.

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"If actually granted by statute, this power would be an unlawful delegation of legislative power to the executive without any intelligible principle to limit his discretion," it continues.

In a write-up about the case, the Liberty Justice Center said, "The President invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the 'Liberation Day tariffs,' as well as the tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. But under that law, the President may invoke emergency economic powers only after declaring a national emergency in response to an 'unusual and extraordinary threat' to national security, foreign policy, or the U.S. economy originating outside of the United States."

According to the suit, a trade deficit in goods isn't an emergency, nor is it an "unusual or extraordinary threat."

The group's case also argues that Trump deployed tariffs on countries where the U.S. doesn't have a trade deficit, which it says further "undermine[s] the administration's justification."

The complaint goes on to allege that the IEEPA doesn't give the president the authority to implement across-the-board tariffs. In fact, the Liberty Justice Center said, "It does not even authorize tariffs at all."

If the IEEPA did give the power to the president, the group said that it "would be an unconstitutional delegation of Congress’s power to impose tariffs."

Read the full filing here.