Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield issued the following statement after today’s hearing at the Court of International Trade in New York City, challenging tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
“Oregon families are still paying more for groceries, clothes, and everyday basics. Now the president is doubling down on his failed economic agenda – making working families foot the bill while he rewrites the rules on a whim.
“What we argued today was straightforward – Congress sets tariffs, not the president, and this law doesn’t give him the authority he’s claiming. The focus should be on getting Oregonians and all Americans refunds after they had to foot the bill for Trump’s tariffs.”
BACKGROUND
Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the President to impose temporary, non-discriminatory tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days to address “fundamental international payments problems,” such as large balance-of-payments deficits. Enacted in the aftermath of the 1971 “Nixon Shock,” the law serves as a narrow statutory check on executive power and requires Congressional approval to extend measures beyond 150 days.
Section 122 has never been used before and does not give the President the power to impose tariffs unless specific economic conditions are met. Oregon is leading a coalition of 24 states in the lawsuit against the Trump administration.
The States are arguing that the law does not authorize the tariffs because the conditions the statute was designed to address simply do not exist today.
A balance-of-payments crisis occurs when a country can no longer obtain sufficient financing through global capital markets or acquire the foreign currency needed to pay for critical imports or service external debt. None of those conditions are present in the United States today. The U.S. maintains a $30 trillion Treasury market with approximately $1.2 trillion in daily trading volume – the foundation of the global financial system.
