Justice Department lawyers said the International Emergency Economic Power Act gives the president the power to negotiate trade transactions.
The 12-state group on Wednesday called on federal court to hold off sweep duties on President Donald Trump’s imports, claiming he had stepped over his powers by declaring a state of national emergency to impose taxes on the majority of U.S. trading partners.
A panel of three judges from the New York-based International Trade Court heard the debate in a lawsuit filed in April by New York, Illinois, Illinois, Illinois and nine other states.
