US Businesses sue Trump administration over ‘Illegal’ Trade policy

Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime sharing; follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates. Click to Follow us

A group of US businesses has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, arguing they are illegal under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Liberty Justice Centre, a legal advocacy group, filed the suit on behalf of five businesses it claims have been “severely harmed” by the tariffs.

For further information, read more details here

According to the lawsuit, the IEEPA allows the president to impose emergency economic powers only in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security or the economy, which the plaintiffs argue hasn’t been met in this case. The complaint also claims the law doesn’t permit the president to unilaterally impose tariffs.

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

The White House defended the tariffs, with spokesperson Harrison Fields stating that trade deficits constitute a “national emergency”. “Never Trumpers will always oppose him, but President Trump is standing up for Main Street by putting an end to our trading partners—especially China—exploiting the U.S.,” Fields said. “His plan levels the playing field for businesses and workers to address our country’s national emergency of chronic trade deficits.”

This isn’t the first challenge to Trump’s tariffs. The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed a similar lawsuit on April 3, arguing the IEEPA doesn’t authorise the president to enact tariffs. The suit was filed on behalf of Simplified, a Florida-based company importing materials from China.

“By invoking emergency power to impose an across-the-board tariff on imports from China that the statute does not authorize, President Trump has misused that power, usurped Congress’s right to control tariffs, and upset the Constitution’s separation of powers,” said Andrew Morris, senior litigation counsel at the NCLA

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post