April 4 (UPI) — A Florida-based boutique stationery company that sources products from China has sued the Trump administration, challenging the legality of tariffs he imposed on the Asian nation.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday by the conservative New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of Simplified, argues President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on China is unconstitutional and should be rescinded.
“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’ right to control tariffs and upset the Constitution’s separation of powers,” Andrew Morris, senior litigation counsel with the NCLA, said in a statement.
Trump imposed a 10% tariff on imports from China on Feb. 1, which he doubled to 20% on March 3.
The president invoked the IEEPA to do so, declaring a national emergency over drugs — in particular fentanyl — originating in China and being smuggled into the United States, contributing to the opioid crisis.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the IEEPA grants the president sweeping authority to regulate economic transactions after declaring a national emergency.
In the lawsuit filed Thursday, the NCLA argues that the IEEPA permits the president to impose sanctions as a rapid response to an international emergency but not to impose taxes in the form of tariffs on the American people — a power reserved for Congress.
“President Trump is attempting to bypass these constraints by invoking the IEEPA,” the lawsuit states. “But in the IEEPA’s almost 50-year history, no previous president has used it to impose tariffs. Which is not surprising, since the statute does not even mention tariffs, nor does it say anything else suggesting it authorizes president to tax American citizens.”
It said its client, Simplified, has incurred economic and competitive harm from the illegal tariffs, which have forced it to pay significantly more for its wares.
“Under the current plans, the new tariffs will impose hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs on Simplified,” the lawsuit states. “If it moves its manufacturing operations away from China, this would impose further costs. Either course would require Simplified to raise its prices to its customers and either reduce its already small staff or not hire more staff. Any raised prices for Simplified’s products will likely reduce demand for those products.”
The IEEPA permits the president to implement asset freezes, trade embargoes and other similar economic sanctions.
The NCLA accused Trump of using the IEEPA as a “blank check” to write domestic economic policy, and is asking the court for injunctive relief enjoining the United States from implementing and enforcing the tariffs against China.
“No president ever thought the IEEPA allowed him to set tariffs. Reading this law broadly enough to uphold the China tariff would transfer core legislative power,” <ark Chenoweth, president of the NCLA, said. "To avoid that nondelegation pitfall, the court must construe the statute consistent with nearly 50 years of unbroken practice and decide it does not permit tariff setting."
The first time the IEEPA was invoked was in 1979 in response to U.S. embassy staff being taken hostage in Iran.
Emergencies declared under the the IEEPA often last years, with the longest emergency being the Iran hostage situation. That emergency has been renewed be all seven successive presidents annually, the Congressional Research Service said.
