(The Center Square) – Democratic attorneys general from Arizona and Oregon are co-leading a lawsuit to stop President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“President Trump’s insane tariff scheme is not only economically reckless – it is illegal,” said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who was joined in the suit against Trump Wednesday by Democratic attorneys general from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.
“Arizona cannot afford President Trump’s massive tax increase,” Mayes said in a news release. “No matter what the White House claims, tariffs are a tax that will be passed on to Arizona consumers.”
Studies of tariffs from Trump’s first term showed 95% of their cost was paid by Americans, according to Mayes’ office. Her office also noted the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund predict the current round of tariffs will cause inflation.
If fully realized, Trump’s campaign tariffs could cost the average American household an additional $2,600 per year, according to the Arizona Center for Economic Progress.
The Oregon Attorney General’s Office cites a higher number, noting tariffs are expected to raise the cost of living for the average family in Oregon by more than $3,800 a year.
“When a president pushes an unlawful policy that drives up prices at the grocery store and spikes utility bills, we don’t have the luxury of standing by – especially when so many Oregonians live on fixed incomes,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
“These tariffs hit every corner of our lives – from the checkout line to the doctor’s office – and we have a responsibility to push back,” Rayfield said Wednesday.
The suit was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade and named Trump, the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its acting commissioner, Peter Flores, as defendants.
The lawsuit challenges the Republican president’s executive orders calling for higher tariffs on most products around the world. The tariffs include a 145% one of most goods from China, a 25% tariff on most products from Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on most products from the rest of the world.
It also seeks to block Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on imports from 46 other trading partners on July 9.
The suit contended Congress, not the president, has the power to impose tariffs under Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution.
“Yet over the last three months, the President has imposed, modified, escalated, and suspended tariffs by executive order, memoranda, social media post, and agency decree,” according to the suit. “These edicts reflect a national trade policy that now hinges on the President’s whims rather than the sound exercise of his lawful authority.”
The lawsuit contended the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump is using to impose the tariffs, doesn’t give him that power. The suit also noted that no other president has tried to use the IEEPA to impose tariffs.
The suit accused Trump of upending the constitutional order and bringing chaos to the U.S. economy.
But Trump has argued that tariffs are necessary to balance the federal budget, support U.S. manufacturing, and stop illegal immigration, human trafficking and the flow of fentanyl into America.
Earlier this month, California filed its lawsuit to stop Trump’s tariffs. Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters the Golden State has more to lose than any other in the nation because of a disproportionate impact on its manufacturing and agricultural sectors.
