A group of companies that use imported steel has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s steel tariffs.
The lawsuit by the American Institute for International Steel seeks to have the 25 percent tariff the Trump administration instituted on most imported steel in May declared unconstitutional.
The suit also says the law the White House used to enact the tariffs — Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act — violates constitutional principles because it allows Congress to cede its legislative authority to the president. The law also lacks ways to limit the executive branch’s power on the issue, the suit alleges.
“In addition to the totally open-ended choice of how to counter any threat that imports may present, Section 232 allows the president to consider virtually any effect on the U.S. economy as part of ‘national security,’” said association President Richard Chriss.
The suit was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City.