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Court Rules Trump Administration’s Tariffs Are Illegal

LANSING – The U.S. Court of International Trade issued an order (PDF) invalidating President Trump’s latest efforts to impose illegal tariffs on products purchased by American consumers and businesses. The court granted summary judgment in a lawsuit Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined with a coalition of 24 states to strike down those tariffs.

"Despite the President's repeated attempts to bypass the law at the expense of Michiganders, I am relieved the Court has struck down his second round of illegal tariffs," said Attorney General Nessel. "Residents are already being squeezed by an affordability crisis. I will continue fighting to block unlawful policies that siphon hard-earned money away from Michigan families."

For more than a year, President Trump has attempted to impose unlawful tariffs on essential goods purchased by American consumers and businesses. Initially, the President invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act—but the Supreme Court ruled those tariffs were illegal. The President then attempted to use a different law that has never been used before—Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974—and imposed 10 percent tariffs on most products worldwide, supposedly in response to “trade deficits.”

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that those tariffs are illegal, too. Section 122 allows tariffs only when there are “large and serious balance-of-payment deficits.” But no such thing exists—a trade deficit is not a balance-of-payment deficit. As the court ruled, the President’s tariffs proclamation “is invalid, and the tariffs imposed on Plaintiffs are unauthorized by law.”

Attorney General Nessel is joined in the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

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