(States Newsroom) Washington In a fresh legal filing this week, U.S. Democratic senators sought a federal appellate court to overturn the charges on foreign imports, arguing that President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs usurped congressional jurisdiction.
After a lower court blocked the case in May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments about some of Trump’s tariffs. Trump threatened tariffs on a number of trading partners Wednesday, including a 50% import tax on Brazilian goods, despite being embroiled in legal proceedings.
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump invoked to impose the penalties, does not grant the authority to impose or remove tariffs, according to the amicus brief, which nearly 200 senators signed on to Tuesday.
According to the congressmen, Trump’s extraordinary use of IEEPA is a violation of Article I of the US Constitution, which gives Congress the power to impose and collect taxes, tariffs, imposts, and excises as well as to control international trade.
Citing the Federalist Papers, the 191 Democratic members of Congress produced a 65-page brief that reflected the Framers’ desire to ensure that the branch closest to the people, which is the most democratically accountable, be in charge of establishing taxes, levies, and customs.
The politicians claim that although Congress has expressly and specifically given the president the authority to raise tariffs, this authority is not granted under IEEPA.
The congressmen stated that the President’s illegal emergency tariffs under IEEPA have caused chaos and uncertainty because they are unmoored from the structural safeguards Congress incorporated into legitimate tariff statutes.
Economic chaos, price hikes cited
The brief was co-led by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Along with Representatives Richard Neal of Massachusetts, Joe Neguse of Colorado, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Gregory Meeks of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also served as a co-leader.
Shaheen said in a statement on Wednesday that Trump’s rash tariff policies have sparked economic turmoil and increased costs for businesses and individuals across at a time when living expenses are already excessively high.
The illegal use of emergency powers by the Trump administration to impose tariffs ignores the fact that he lacks the capacity to unilaterally raise American taxes to their highest level in decades. Shaheen stated, “This brief makes clear that IEEPA cannot be used to impose tariffs.”
May decision
After two legal challenges by a dozen Democratic state attorneys general and a few business owners, the U.S. Court of International Trade slapped down Trump’s emergency tariffs on May 28.
Among the states that filed the lawsuit were Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oregon.
On its website, V.O.S. Selections, a New York-based company that imports wine and spirits from 16 countries, is listed as the primary business plaintiff. Additional plaintiffs include a plastics manufacturer from Utah, a children’s electricity learning kit manufacturer from Virginia, a fishing gear firm from Pennsylvania, and a women’s cycle clothing company from Vermont.
The Federal Circuit upheld Trump’s tariffs as the lawsuit proceeded after receiving an appeal from the White House.
Triple-digit tariff
On April 2, in what he called “Liberation Day,” Trump declared tariffs on almost every other nation and utilized IEEPA to declare international trade a national emergency.
Stunting levels of tariffs were imposed on the main trading partners of the United States, such as 46% on Vietnam, 25% on South Korea, and 20% on the European Union.
The markets, which have somewhat recovered, lost trillions of dollars after the announcement. For ninety days, Trump postponed all basic tariffs on all nations except China, with the exception of 10%. With a tariff rate that peaked at 145% and then momentarily settled between 10% and 55%, depending on the good, Trump stoked a trade war with the large Asian country.
Small business owners across the United States told States Newsroom they were preparing for possibly disastrous economic ramifications even before Trump stunned the globe with his Liberation Day declaration.
Trump’s tariffs imposed under other acts, such as national security-related duties on imported autos, steel, and aluminum, are exempt from the trade court’s decision, which is now pending appeals. Former President Joe Biden maintained some of the steel tariffs that were put in place during Trump’s first term.
