Governor Ferguson leads coalition urging U.S. Supreme Court to uphold decision striking down President Trump’s unlawful tariffs
Brief: Washington stands to lose $8.1 billion in output sales by 2029 if Trump tariffs stand
OLYMPIA – Today, Governor Bob Ferguson filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a legal challenge to block the Trump Administration’s illegal tariffs.
Ferguson is leading a coalition of 27 public and private partners that have “borne the consequences of President Trump’s unlawful tariffs and disregard for separation of powers,” the brief states, including increased costs for consumers, supply chain disruptions, and lost revenues across industries.
The amicus brief asserts that public and private interests in Washington, a leader in global and national trade, are disproportionately harmed. Specifically, if the tariffs are allowed to continue, the brief states Washington is projected to lose 32,000 jobs and suffer a net loss of $8.1 billion in output sales by 2029.
According to the amicus brief: “In the few short months since their implementation, these tariffs have undermined the state’s economic well-being and severely disrupted key sectors of Washington’s economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, and technology, resulting in higher costs for consumers and businesses, and reduced competitiveness in global markets.”
The brief also states the sweeping tariffs unilaterally imposed by the President “undermine the bedrock principles” upon which the country was founded.
“Our coalition knows firsthand how devastating President Trump’s illegal tariffs are to Washington’s businesses, workers and consumers,” Governor Ferguson said. “The Supreme Court must follow the Constitution and strike down these reckless tariffs before they cost our state billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs.”
This is the second amicus brief filed by Ferguson and the coalition of state and local officials, state legislators, labor unions, and businesses.
In May, the coalition filed a brief supporting a multistate lawsuit challenging four of President Donald Trump’s executive orders that claim the power to increase tariffs worldwide without Congressional approval.
Both the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have struck down Trump’s illegal tariffs, though they remain in effect while the Supreme Court considers the case.
Article I of the Constitution vests Congress, not the President, with the “Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” Trump’s executive orders cite the powers granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), but that law applies only when an emergency presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad and does not empower the president to impose tariffs. Congress enacted IEEPA in 1977. No other president has imposed tariffs based on IEEPA.
President Trump’s executive orders announced higher tariffs on virtually every nation in the world. Right now, these include a 35 percent tariff on many imports from Canada, a 25 percent tariff on many products from Mexico, and a blanket tariff of 10 percent on most products from much of the rest of the world.
In all, Washington companies shipped $57.8 billion worth of goods to the world in 2024. Nearly $120 billion in exports and imports flowed through Washington state ports last year. As of 2022, Washington goods exports supported an estimated 160,000 jobs across the state, almost 18 percent above the national average.
Impacts of the tariffs are already proving significant. Last month, the state Office of Financial Management released what is believed to be the first statewide, nonpartisan report on the potential effects of tariffs. It found that fully implementing Trump’s tariffs could cost Washington $2.2 billion in general fund revenue over the next four years. Quarterly state GDP growth is also expected to slow by 1.2 to 1.8 percentage points through 2029.
In filing the amicus with the U.S. Supreme Court, Ferguson is joined by State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti; 10 state legislators; the mayors of Seattle and Spokane; five labor unions; the Washington Economic Development Association, a trade association whose members include Washington-based economic development organizations, cities, counties, ports, tribes, businesses, education and community-based organizations; and other business and economic development interests.
The Attorney General’s Office appointed attorneys Steven Fogg and Kathryn Joy of Corr Cronin LLP as special assistant attorneys general to handle the brief pro bono, at no cost to the state.
###
|
