Zach Schonfeld | March 9, 2026
(The Hill)
A libertarian public-interest firm that helped topple President Trump’s emergency tariffs at the Supreme Court sued him Monday over his new levies, contending they also are illegal.
“This Court has been down this road before,” Liberty Justice Center wrote in its complaint.
The suit challenges Trump’s global 10 percent tariff — which he pledged to raise to 15 percent — quickly imposed after the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of the president’s previous import charges.
Liberty Justice Center represented some of the small businesses that won that case. Now, the firm represents a new group of businesses who say they shouldn’t have to pay Trump’s latest tariffs.
Spice and e-commerce business Burlap & Barrel is leading the suit alongside Basic Fun!, a toy company that designs and markets brands such as Tonka, Lincoln Logs and K’nex.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump’s previous levies relied on a 1977 emergency powers law, which the Supreme Court ruled didn’t authorize tariffs. The president’s new ones are imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Though the law does allow some tariffs, it is limited to addressing balance-of-payments deficits. The president and administration officials say that’s what Trump is doing, but the suit argues that can’t be true now that the U.S. has moved to a floating exchange rate.
“But no large and serious balance-of-payments deficit exists in the United States,” the suit states. “Indeed, our current economic framework makes it impossible for such a deficit to exist. Instead, the President has attempted to redefine the term balance-of-payments deficit to mean trade deficit.”
The suit adds to a similar one filed last week by a group of Democratic attorneys general. Both cases are headed to the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Meanwhile, the fight for refunds over the $166 billion in tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court is moving ahead. The judge overseeing the process gave the administration some breathing room after it said it needs as many as 45 days to stand up a new system to handle claims. An update is expected Thursday.
To read this article at the source, click here.
To learn more about this case, click here.