The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a conservative legal group, filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, claiming the president exceeded his authority.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, argues that Trump lacked the legal basis to impose the tariffs announced on Wednesday, as well as those imposed on February 1, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The NCLA, representing Florida-based home management retailer Simplified, contends that the tariffs violate the Constitution’s separation of powers, as only Congress has the authority to impose tariffs. “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,” said NCLA senior litigation counsel Andrew Morris.
The lawsuit seeks to block the implementation and enforcement of the new tariffs, which add a 34% tariff to China’s imports, bringing the total levy to 54%. The NCLA claims that the law Trump invoked only allows tariffs to be imposed in response to specific emergencies, and the justification for this tariff—addressing China’s alleged involvement in the U.S. opioid epidemic—serves as a pretext to reduce trade deficits and raise tax revenue.
Trump’s tariff measures have been highly controversial, with critics arguing that they could damage global trade relations and the economy. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell, a Trump appointee, who had previously blocked parts of former President Joe Biden’s immigration policy.
