Businesses Sue To End Trump’s Trade War For Good

A group of small businesses have filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration in the International Trade Court to put an end to his trade war once and for all. The plaintiffs are arguing that “trade deficits” do not constitute an “economic emergency,” which is what Trump used to declare an emergency in order to enact the tariffs. This case has substantial merit and a strong argument, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.

Subscribe to stay connected to our stories

Support us by becoming a member on YouTube

Or Support us on Patreon

Buy Ring of Fire merch

Find us on social media!

*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

Donald Trump and his entire administration are being sued by a group of five small businesses in the US International Court of Trade arguing that this man has no actual power to institute tariffs and therefore the courts need to put an end to his trade war once and for all. Now, that's a bold lawsuit, right? That's a, that's a pretty remarkable argument that these five small businesses are attempting to make in the US International Court of trade. But I gotta tell you, it is a pretty solid legal argument. Here is what they argue in their lawsuit. Congress has not delegated any such power. The statute that President invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to unilaterally issue across the board worldwide. Tariffs, his claimed emergency is a figment of his own imagination. Trade deficits, which have persisted for decades without causing economic harm are not an emergency, nor do these trade deficits constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat, which the administration claimed when they invoked a national economic emergency to give themselves the power to put the tariffs in place.

So basically, what this lawsuit is saying is Trump's rationale for the tariffs in the first place does not constitute an economic emergency. Therefore, the law that he invoked is invalid. And Congress actually has the authority to do this because the law that he invoked doesn't even technically give him the ability to do it. Therefore, courts, for the love of God, put an end to the trade war. And what I love about this lawsuit is the fact that the five businesses spread across several states that filed it all already have economic damages like that is what I have said for years, right? Because we do have these organizations, very well-meaning organizations by the way, that file lawsuits immediately, you know, as soon as legislation is signed, whether it's at the state level or the federal level, they will immediately file a lawsuit and be like, ah, this is, this is wrong. We can't, you can't do this. And I have said for years, and again, I love these organizations that do that. I hate to, to criticize them, but they do this very stupidly because that's not smart. You have to wait until you have somebody with a valid legal claim. In other words, damages. Because if you don't have damages, you don't have a case. These five businesses have on paper the amount of money they have already lost due to tariffs. They have

Damages. This is smart. This is how you do it. So I love this lawsuit. I love their argument. I think it's a solid legal argument. Problem is, as we've seen from this administration, they're just openly defined court orders, including court orders from the United States Supreme Court. So even if they win, does that put an end to the tariffs? I don't know. We're literally in a constitutional crisis right now, but it's a good lawsuit. They've got good plaintiffs, they a great argument, and I hope for the sake of the economy and this country that they succeed.