A legal advocacy group has asked the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) to block Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners, arguing that the president overstepped his authority, reports The Guardian.

The lawsuit was filed on April 14 by the Liberty Justice Center, a legal advocacy group, on behalf of five U.S. businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the tariffs. The CIT is a trial court established under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, located in New York City but with federal jurisdiction over civil actions arising out of the customs and international trade laws of the U.S. 

“No one person should have the power to impose taxes that have such vast global economic consequences,” Jeffrey Schwab, Liberty Justice Center’s senior counsel, said in a statement. “The Constitution gives the power to set tax rates — including tariffs — to Congress, not the President.”

The Liberty Justice Center is the litigation arm of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free market think tank. It was instrumental in the supreme court case Janus v AFSCME in 2018, in which it successfully fought to weaken the collective bargaining power of public labor unions.

The statement says the President invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the “Liberation Day” tariffs, as well as the tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. But under that law, the President may invoke emergency economic powers only after declaring a national emergency in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security, foreign policy, or the U.S. economy originating outside of the United States. The lawsuit argues that the Administration’s justification — a trade deficit in goods — is neither an emergency nor an unusual or extraordinary threat. 

“Trade deficits have existed for decades, and do not constitute a national emergency or threat to security. Moreover, the Administration imposed tariffs even on countries with which the U.S. does not have a trade deficit, further undermining the administration’s justification.

According to the group’s statement, the tariffs case was filed on behalf of five owner-operated businesses who have been severely harmed by the tariffs. 

The Guardian said representatives of the White House did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Trump administration faces a similar lawsuit in Florida federal court, where a small business owner has asked a judge to block tariffs imposed on China.