The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed the initial complaint in Florida district court on Thursday challenging President Donald Trump's "unlawful use of emergency power to impose a tariff on all imports from China." (Pool)
Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 1 titled "Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China," and amended it on Mar. 3 to raise tariffs on Chinese imports from 10% to 20%.
Plaintiff Emily Ley, owner of Simplified, a Pensacola, Florida-based company, argues Trump's invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the tariffs is unlawful. The plaintiff also argues that her business will be harmed as a result of Trump's action.
"The key thing for all of this is that IEEPA does not provide for the tariff power, and you know that because when Congress does do it, they use the word, and they say how the president is supposed to do it," John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel at NCLA, told Fox News Digital.
Vecchione notes that the complaint delineates the various statutes Trump used in his first term to impose tariffs, saying that in this instance, he is "using the wrong statute."
"Here, [Trump] declares an emergency, and then he says that his tariffs fit the emergency, that they're necessary for the emergency," Vecchione said. "IEEPA requires that they be necessary for the emergency, and they're not."
TRUMP TOUTS RETURN OF THE 'AMERICAN DREAM' IN HISTORIC TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT
"China played it wrong, they panicked -- the one thing they cannot afford to do," President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
Trump was joined by several Cabinet members in the Rose Garden on Thursday for his first official presidential event since taking office in January. During the speech, Trump announced that China would be hit with a 34% tariff.
In response, China declared retaliatory measures on Friday, saying it would impose matching 34% tariffs on U.S. goods.
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The new tariffs are set to take effect April 10, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"China played it wrong, they panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do," Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
Haley Chi-Sing is a politics writer for Fox News Digital. You can reach her at @haleychising on X.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/legal-challenge-trump-china-tariffs-ncla-lawsuit