WASHINGTON: A coalition of two dozen states sued President Trump on Thursday over the new 10 per cent tariff that he has imposed on imports from around the world, a move that will send the administration back to court to defend the legality of its punishing trade war.
The lawsuit, led by the Democratic attorneys general from Oregon, New York, California and Arizona, claimed that Trump did not have the power to impose that tax and “sidestep” the Supreme Court, which delivered the administration a stunning blow last month that struck down the president’s original slate of withering duties.
The legal challenge marked the latest twist in a saga that has engulfed Trump’s second-term economic agenda, which hinges on the unfettered use of tariffs to reorient global trade, bolster domestic manufacturing, project geopolitical influence and raise billions of dollars in revenue.
That money, totaling more than $ 100 billion, has been the subject of a separate bout of legal warfare, as a rapidly widening roster of businesses clamor for refunds that the administration has been unwilling to provide.
