Colorado and 11 other states sue Trump administration to stop tariff policy

NEW YORK Colorado and other states sued the Trump administration in the U S Court of International Bargain in New York on Wednesday to stop its tariff plan saying it is unlawful and has brought chaos to the American market system The lawsuit disclosed the procedures put in place by President Donald Trump has been subject to his whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority It challenged Trump s claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Exigency Economic Powers Act The suit asks the court to declare the tariffs to be illegal and to block leadership agencies and their officers from enforcing them A message sent to the Justice Department for comment was not right away returned The other states listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Arizona Connecticut Delaware Illinois Maine Minnesota Nevada New Mexico New York Oregon and Vermont Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser mentioned in a comment that Coloradans already are seeing rising prices due to Trump s tariffs Under the Constitution only Congress has the power to tax and impose tariffs and there is no crisis that justifies the Trump tariffs Weiser reported We are challenging these tariffs in court because they are illegal and as one review concluded they will increase inflation effect in nearly lost jobs and shrink the American economic activity by billion a year In a news release Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called Trump s tariff scheme insane She stated it was not only economically reckless it is illegal Related Articles Owner of The North Face Vans among Colorado companies hit with worst one-day shares loss following tariff concerns Letters Thanks for showing Canada a bit of love in these tough tariff times Uncertainty colors Colorado economic forecast as lawmakers begin to finalize budget As President Trump s ICE raids ramp up here s how immigration enforcement has changed The lawsuit maintained that only Congress has the power to impose tariffs and that the president can only invoke the International Urgency Economic Powers Act when an urgency presents an strange 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 crisis the President has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American market the lawsuit noted 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 framework 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 urgency that s decimating America s industries and leaving our workers behind with every tool at our disposal from tariffs to negotiations Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot