Yet another lawsuit (by twelve states) has just been filed contesting the legality of Trump’s tariffs. It contests the validity of various tariffs proclaimed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Simply stating there was no international emergency that justifies the tariffs. Thus, violating the statute and the Constitution.

     While various anti-Trump tariff cases have been filed in other federal courts, they are all in the preliminary stages and mostly asking for temporary relief prior to decisions on the merits. My guess, they will succeed even though Trump will proclaim a misguided executive authority based on his foreign affairs powers. (He has already lost numerous preliminary actions in other litigation involving non-trade / tariff issues — such as migration and federal layoffs.

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“Twelve states filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the legality of Trump’s broad tariff agenda, arguing it unlawfully undermines Congress’ constitutional authority to regulate foreign commerce. …. The legal challenge seeks to halt the enforcement of the global tariffs Trump levied that invoked a wartime law granting presidents the power to oversee trade if the United States is in a state of emergency …. The complaint Democratic attorneys general filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The lawsuit cites four tariff-focused executive orders signed by Trump. Each one invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that grants presidents permission to make trade decisions without congressional approval under declarations of national emergencies …. “The purported ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ identified by President Trump as ‘national emergencies’ do not amount to emergencies. Nor are they extraordinary or even unusual,” the lawsuit says …. Without proper emergency justification for using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the lawsuit says, the Trump administration is violating Congress’ “power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises,” as delegated by Article 1 of the Constitution. The Trump administration has sought to justify its recent tariffs on key U.S. trading partners by declaring various emergencies it argued the countries were at fault for causing. “Dozen States Sue Trump Tariffs.” NBC News (2.2425).