Twelve U.S. states on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York against President Donald Trump's tariff policy.
The lawsuit alleges that the U.S.' trade policy "now hinges on the resident's whims rather than the sound exercise of his lawful authority.
"By claiming the authority to impose immense and ever-changing tariffs on whatever goods entering the U.S. 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 plaintiffs argue that, according to the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the power to levy taxes, tariffs and duties, not the president.
Since taking office, Trump has announced a range of far-reaching tariffs on imports, which triggered turbulence in the stock and financial markets.
In early April, he announced that the U.S. was imposing blanket tariffs of at least 10% on all imports to the country, plus additional levies for a host of trading partners.
While many of the planned tariffs have been suspended for 90 days to allow for trade negotiations, special tariffs of up to 145% remain in place on Chinese goods. Beijing retaliated with tariffs of up to 125% on U.S. products.
The lawsuit was filed by the states of Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York and Vermont, which have Democratic governors, as well as Republican-led states of Arizona and Nevada.
The plaintiffs are demanding that the court overturn the tariffs because "the President has no authority to arbitrarily impose tariffs as he has done here," according to the lawsuit.
Last week, the state of California filed a separate lawsuit against Trump's far-reaching special tariffs in federal court.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the sweeping U.S. tariffs and corresponding retaliatory measures are driving a surge in global public debt. The U.S. itself is also suffering from the measures.
