Advancing American Freedom, leading a coalition of 20 amici, filed an amicus brief in Gellert Global Group Corp. v. Trump urging the United States Court of International Trade to once again strike down the president’s illegal tariffs. In July, President Trump invoked Section 338 of the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act to impose 50% tariffs on numerous products from Canada. Americans, not Canadians, pay the price of these tariffs. As AAF’s amicus brief argues, these tariffs are permitted neither by Section 338 nor the Constitution.
“The Constitution vests the power to impose tariffs in Congress, not the President. Section 338 of Smoot-Hawley did not and could not change that fact,” said AAF General Counsel J. Marc Wheat. “The courts serve as a backstop to overreach by the political branches, a last line of defense for the people’s liberty. The Court of International Trade should rule for Plaintiff and ensure that Congress alone holds the power to impose tariffs on the American people.”