WaPo 05.13.2025
Washington Post: Trump trade war faces legal challenge as businesses, states argue his tariffs exceeded his power
“The legal battle against Trump’s tariffs has created unusual bedfellows, uniting states led by Democratic governors with libertarian groups – including the Liberty Justice Center – that often seek to overturn government regulation of businesses. A dozen states have filed suit against Trump’s tariffs in the New York trade court. A hearing in that case is scheduled for May 21.
Kathleen Claussen, a professor and trade-law expert at Georgetown Law, said Tuesday’s hearing and another scheduled for the states’ lawsuit in the coming weeks will likely set the tone for legal battles over tariffs to come. If the court agrees to block the tariffs under the emergency economic-powers act, the Trump administration will certainly appeal. “It strikes me probably this probably is something that has to be decided by the Supreme Court,” she said.
And if the cases do go to the Supreme Court , legal experts say, it’s possible the justices will use conservative legal doctrines they cited to rein in government powers claimed by Democratic President Joe Biden administration to strike down or limit tariffs imposed by Trump, a Republican.” – Paul Wiseman & Lindsay Whitehurst