WASHINGTON, July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog filed an amicus curiae brief today in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, expanding its ongoing legal campaign against former President Donald Trump's sweeping and unauthorized use of emergency powers to impose tariffs. The brief supports a lawsuit challenging tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Consumer Watchdog argues were never authorized by Congress and violate the Constitution.

This is the latest in a series of Consumer Watchdog's legal challenges to Trump's tariff actions, with related briefs filed in the federal courts of California and the Federal Circuit.

"This is a coast-to-coast effort to defend the Constitution and the American consumer," said William Pletcher, litigation director at Consumer Watchdog. "Allowing any President to impose sweeping tariffs without clear limits undermines Congress's core role in tax and trade policy and threatens the balance of powers the Constitution requires. The courts have a vital duty to uphold that balance."

The D.C. Circuit brief argues that IEEPA does not grant the President authority to impose tariffs—let alone to do so repeatedly, erratically, and without congressional oversight.  The brief emphasizes that accepting the government's theory would raise serious constitutional questions under the non-delegation doctrine and undermine Congress's exclusive power to levy taxes.

"These tariffs function as a regressive tax on working families and small businesses, imposed through a shifting and unpredictable process with no clear rules or public input," said Pletcher. "We're urging the courts to enforce the legal and constitutional limits on presidential power."

The brief includes a detailed addendum cataloging dozens of executive orders issued in 2025 alone that imposed, adjusted, or suspended tariffs on a near-daily basis—sometimes based on social media statements. The organization's brief warns that this pattern reflects a "lawless and capricious" trade regime untethered to any clear legal authority.

Consumer Watchdog is represented in this matter by Alan Morrison, Lerner Family Associate Dean at George Washington University Law School, and by attorneys from Morris, Manning & Martin LLP.

Read the full brief here.
More on Consumer Watchdog's legal work: https://consumerwatchdog.org/tag/tariffs

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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog