Duties, 12 US states sue Trump
The lawsuit states that the president does not have the power to arbitrarily impose tariffs
2' min read
2' min read
Besides California, which moved first, a dozen states sued Donald Trump on duties. They are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico and Vermont, among others. All states have Democratic attorneys general, but Nevada and Vermont have Republican governors. Then there are New York, Illinois and Oregon.
All states suing President Trump argue that he does not have the power to "arbitrarily impose tariffs". The New York Times writes this. They also argue that only Congress has the power to legislate tariffs, and ask the court to stop the Trump administration from applying what they call illegal tariffs.
"These edicts reflect a national trade policy that depends on the whims of the president rather than the proper exercise of his lawful authority," reads the lawsuit, filed by the states' attorneys general in the US Court of International Trade.
The first to move, California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with the Attorney General, claimed in the lawsuit filed last week that the duties caused 'immediate and irreparable harm' to the state's economy.
Officials and companies from Oregon, the lead plaintiff in this class action lawsuit filed on Wednesday, 23 April, also expressed concern about the vulnerability of the state's trade-dependent economy, as well as its sportswear sector, as a result of the duties.
