‘Insane, reckless:’ Arizona AG joins lawsuit against Trump administration tariffs
PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — A dozen states, including Arizona, are suing the Trump administration to stop its tariff policy, claiming it is unlawful and has brought chaos to the American economy.
The lawsuit said the policy put in place by President Donald Trump has left the national trade policy subject to Trump’s “whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority.” Officials are challenging Trump’s claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The Trump administration has implemented tariffs on cars, steel, and aluminum, as well as 25% import taxes on most goods from Canada and Mexico. The White House has also imposed 10% tariffs on nearly all imports, and a huge 145% duty on goods from China, although smartphones and computers have been exempt. China has retaliated with 125% duties on U.S. goods.
“President Trump’s insane tariff scheme is not only economically reckless – it is illegal,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. “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.”
The lawsuit states that the Constitution assigns to Congress, not the President, the “power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.” Officials say the president can only invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act when an emergency presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad.
“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,” a portion of the lawsuit states.
According to the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, experts are predicting tariffs will raise the cost of living for the average Arizona family by thousands of dollars a year.
“As Arizona’s chief law enforcement officer, I will not stand by while President Trump jeopardizes Arizona’s economy,” Mayes said. “I will do everything in my power to protect Arizonans and businesses large and small from the illegal actions of the Trump administration.”
Mayes and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield are leading the case. Fellow attorneys general from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont have also joined the lawsuit.
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, sued the Trump administration in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California over the tariff policy, saying his state could lose billions of dollars in revenue as the largest importer in the country.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai responded to Newsom’s lawsuit, saying 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.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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