5 Companies Sue Trump Over Tariffs

Five companies filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to impose tariffs on nearly every country in the world, arguing that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority.

On April 2, Trump announced that he would impose 10 percent baseline tariffs on nearly every country and higher rates for nations where the United States is at a significant trade deficit. A week later, the president paused the reciprocal tariffs for dozens of countries except for China, for which he raised the tariff rate to 145 percent.

The libertarian-aligned Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of the companies in the U.S. Court of International Trade, alleging that a statute that Trump invoked “does not authorize the President to unilaterally issue across-the-board worldwide tariffs.”

“His claimed emergency is a figment of his own imagination: trade deficits, which have persisted for decades without causing economic harm, are not an emergency. Nor do these trade deficits constitute an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat,’” the group’s lawyers said.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of alcohol company Vos Selections, sportfishing e-commerce business FishUSA, toy manufacturer MicroKits, pipe manufacturer Genova Pipe, and cycling apparel brand Terry Precision Cycling.

Liberty Justice Center’s senior counsel, Jeffrey Schwab, said in a statement that the president lacks the “power to impose taxes that have such vast global economic consequences.” The plaintiffs argue that only Congress can set tax rates, not the executive branch.

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Trump said in an April 2 executive order that the initial swath of tariffs is needed to bolster national security around supply chains and because U.S. trading partners have engaged in “economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption, as indicated by large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits.”

Trump’s announcements have caused fluctuations in the stock market this month, with indexes dropping before the partial tariff pause. On Monday, the three major stock indexes saw increases. By 3:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by more than 400 points, while the Nasdaq increased about 1 percentage point.

On Sunday, Trump said that he would be announcing tariffs on imported semiconductors over the next week, adding that there would be flexibility with some companies in the sector.

“We wanted to uncomplicate it from a lot of other companies, because we want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled back to Washington from his estate in West Palm Beach.

Trump declined to say whether some products, such as smartphones, might still end up being exempted. “You have to show a certain flexibility. Nobody should be so rigid,” he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump announced in a post on Truth Social, “We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.

“What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States, and that we will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ABC News on Sunday that Trump will set up a “special focus-type of tariff” on smartphones, computers, and other electronics within several weeks alongside semiconductors and pharmaceutical drugs.

The Trump administration has not responded to the group’s lawsuit in court. The Epoch Times contacted the White House for comment on Monday.

Reuters contributed to this report.