Oregon Attorney General leads suit against Trump, administration to block tariffs

Oregon is leading 11 other states in suing President Donald Trump and officials in his administration over tariffs that have touched nearly all goods imported into the U.S.

The suit, State of Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al., was filed Wednesday by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general in the Court of International Trade in New York. It names Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its leader, Kristi Noem, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and its leader, Peter Flores.

Rayfield plans to discuss the suit with reporters later this afternoon.

The attorneys general — from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont as well as Oregon— are challenging four of Trump’s executive orders that have added a 145% tariff on most imports from China; a 25% tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico; and a 10% tariff on most all other goods imported to the U.S. The suit also preemptively challenges Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on imports from more than 40 other countries on July 9, according to a news release from the Attorney General’s Office.

“When a president pushes an unlawful policy that drives up prices at the grocery store and spikes utility bills, we don’t have the luxury of standing by — especially when so many Oregonians live on fixed incomes,” Rayfield said in the news release.

Rayfield and the attorneys general argue Trump is unlawfully using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs that are, under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, powers granted only to Congress, not the Executive Branch. The 1977 Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the president broad latitude on financial regulation and foreign policy if a national emergency, described as an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” is declared.

The attorneys general argue no such threat exists, and that no president before Trump has imposed tariffs based on the Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Experts estimate tariffs could raise the cost of living for the average family nationwide by more than $3,800 a year, according to a report from the Budget Lab at Yale University

Feeling the pain

Both Gov. Tina Kotek and Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, held roundtables recently with small and medium business owners to discuss the impact of tariffs.

Business leaders told Kotek April 16 they were frustrated at the speed and inconsistency with which tariffs are being issued, and some said their businesses might not survive if tariffs continue for much longer.

“We believe manufacturers our size are going to go under,” Emma Mcilroy, CEO of Portland-based clothing company Wildfang, told Kotek.

Oregon’s state economist, Carl Riccadonna, joined Kotek’s roundtable discussion. He has encouraged business owners to take a survey from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, so it can gather more information about tariff impacts.

Riccadonna said the full impact of tariffs on Oregon’s economy — measured by growth of new or existing businesses, increases in hiring and decreases in inflation — likely won’t be known until mid-summer.

At a roundtable with businesses held at the Port of Portland Monday, Wyden said he and Kentucky’s senior U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, would introduce legislation to end Trump’s tariffs as early as next week.

Wyden described it as “one of the most important matters I’ve ever been involved with in my entire life.”

“I think the stakes are that high,” he said.

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