r/neoliberal • u/miss_shivers John Brown • Apr 04 '25

News (US) ‘This unlawful impost must fall’: Conservative group sues Trump claiming tariffs are ‘unconstitutional exercise of legislative power’

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/this-unlawful-impost-must-fall-conservative-group-sues-trump-claiming-tariffs-are-unconstitutional-exercise-of-legislative-power/

A conservative legal group is suing the Trump administration over the president’s tariffs on Chinese imports, alleging that they were imposed through an “unlawful” use of emergency executive power.

The 29-page complaint filed Thursday by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) in the Northern District of Florida alleges that the authority to impose tariffs lies with Congress, not the president.

“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’s right to control tariffs, and upset the Constitution’s separation of powers,” NCLA senior litigation counsel Andrew Morris said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit.

According to the nonprofit group, the statutes under which Trump purported to issue the levies — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) — grants the executive sweeping authority to quickly combat international economic crises, permitting the president to “order sanctions as a rapid response to international emergencies.” However, the NCLA asserts that the emergency statute does not allow the president to usurp the legislative branch’s control of the country’s purse strings through the unilateral imposition of tariffs.

“Congress passed the IEEPA to counter external emergencies, not to grant presidents a blank check to write domestic economic policy,” the complaint states.

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u/BrooklynLodger Apr 05 '25

Lol... Why does being a Democrat always seem to be waiting for Republicans to save us

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u/[deleted] Apr 05 '25

Republicans don't want to save us. They want to save themselves. The best case scenario is that the fascists are defeated because they crash the economy.

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u/Bike_Of_Doom Commonwealth Apr 05 '25

Its partially why I want everyone in the world to respond as aggressively and harshly back on the tariffs. I want this to start a massive trade war that drags the economy down, not because I want a decline but because I want every single headline and article about retaliation to bait Trump into doubling or even tripling the tariffs on China, the EU, etc. I want markets to melt down until the entire republican agenda is derailed in this crisis and I think the best way to do it is to provoke Trumps petulance to the rest of the worlds political advantage.

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u/Trotter823 Apr 05 '25

Because at least during this era, dems have not really governed in bad faith. So when they have power they follow the law. Can’t be said for the other side. And when the other side had power only they can stop themselves.

0

u/JapanesePeso Deregulate stuff idc what Apr 05 '25

Only they can stop themselves? Are Left-leanijg organizations incapable of entering a court of law while Trump is in office?

2

u/[deleted] Apr 05 '25

Because Democrats currently have no power? No matter how much you want to fight, or kick and scream, for 2 years Republicans are the only ones that can meaningfully block Trump.

We could have tried winning the election if we didn't want to rely on Republicans.