The details of President Donald Trump's promised tariffs have been announced, and as many Americans are mourning what the plummeting stock market is doing to their 401(k) plans and investment accounts, others are asking if his tariffs are even legal. Does Trump, or any American president, really have the power to unilaterally impose these tariffs? A Florida company that sells stationery supplies believes he doesn't, and on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Trump and other members of his administration, alleging that the president lacks the ability to impose tariffs on China. The suit's argument, boiled down, is that while Trump claims he has the power to levy these tariffs under a federal statute called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 ("IEEPA"), he does not have such power. We knew that legal challenges to the Trump tariffs would come and that they'd argue that Trump had exceeded the admittedly broad authority Congress has granted presidents. This is a preview of Jessica Levinson's latest article. Read the full column here. |
