Trump administration sued over Chinese import tariffs

New Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative legal group, on Thursday filed what it said was the first lawsuit seeking to block Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports, saying the U.S. president overstepped his authority.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleges that Trump lacked the legal authority to impose the sweeping tariffs unveiled on Wednesday as well as duties authorized on February 1 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

"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, usurped Congress's right to control tariffs, and upset the Constitution's separation of powers," NCLA senior litigation counsel Andrew Morris said in a statement.

White House representatives did not immediately respond to a Reuters' email seeking comment.

NCLA filed the lawsuit on behalf of Simplified, a Florida-based retailer of home management products.

Trump on Wednesday announced that China would be hit with a 34 percent tariff, on top of the 20 percent he imposed earlier this year, bringing the total new levies to 54 percent.

The lawsuit asks a judge to block implementation and enforcement of the tariffs and undo Trump's changes to the U.S. tariff schedule.

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: A crane transports steel coil at a port under Baosteel Group, in Baoshan district of Shanghai, China, March 13, 2025. /Reuters)