Dozen US states sue Trump government over 'insane, reckless' tariff policy

A dozen US states have taken legal action against the federal government, blaming President Donald Trump's "insane, reckless" tariff policy for the chaos wrought on the American economy.

The lawsuit lodged by the states of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, New York and Vermont at the Court of International Trade in New York City on Wednesday said Trump's tariffs are unlawful.

The tariffs imposed by Trump are the sheer result of his “whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority”, it said. 

The lawsuit challenges Trump’s claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The suit asks the court to declare the tariffs to be illegal, and to block government agencies and its officers from enforcing them.

“By claiming the authority to impose immense and ever-changing tariffs on whatever goods entering the United States he chooses, for whatever reason he finds convenient to declare an emergency, the President has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy,” the lawsuit said.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said, “President Trump’s insane tariff scheme is not only economically reckless – it is illegal.”

She said Trump's tariffs are a kind of tax that will cause the prices of every item to go up all across the state.

“Arizona cannot afford President Trump’s massive tax increase. No matter what the White House claims, tariffs are a tax that will be passed on to Arizona consumers,” she aded.

Trump's tariffs have been placed on cars, steel, and aluminum, as well as 25 percent import taxes on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Trump has also imposed 10 percent tariffs on nearly all imports, and a huge 145 percent duty on goods from China, although smartphones and computers are exempted.

Trump tariffs: A wrecking ball!

A tariff war with the aim of balancing revenue with deficits is not as straightforward as that.

California Governor Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration last week, saying Trump's tariffs will cause "immediate and irreparable harm to California, the largest economy, manufacturing, and agriculture state in the nation."

He said the state of California could lose billions of dollars in revenue as the largest importer in the United States.

The lawsuit filed in US District Court in northern California seeks to have Trump's tariffs declared void.

In response to the lawsuit filed in California, the White House claimed the country is in a state of emergency.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said President Trump was determined to continue to defend America's workers with all the tools at his disposal.

The Trump administration “remains committed to addressing this national emergency that’s decimating America’s industries and leaving our workers behind with every tool at our disposal, from tariffs to negotiations," Desai said.

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