A legal advocacy group, the Liberty Justice Center, has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign trading partners, arguing that the president exceeded his authority. The lawsuit represents five small U.S. businesses that import goods from countries affected by the tariffs, including a New York wine and spirits importer and a Virginia-based maker of educational kits and musical instruments. The legal challenge targets Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced on April 2 and additional duties imposed on China.

The Liberty Justice Center’s senior counsel, Jeffrey Schwab, highlighted the constitutional concern, stating that the power to set tax rates, including tariffs, resides with Congress, not the President. In defense of the tariffs, White House spokesman Harrison Fields emphasized that Trump’s actions aim to protect American businesses from unfair trade practices by other countries, particularly China.

This lawsuit is one of multiple legal actions taken against Trump’s tariffs, with a similar case in Florida federal court. Trump’s administration had imposed 10% tariffs on goods from all countries, with higher tariffs for nations deemed to have significant barriers to U.S. imports, although most were later paused for 90 days. The president invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify these tariffs, a move contested by the Liberty Justice Center as an overreach of presidential authority.

The lawsuit seeks to halt the enforcement of the tariffs and declare that Trump lacked the authority to impose them. With the Court of International Trade in New York overseeing the case, the outcome could have significant implications for the ongoing trade policies of the United States.