Liberty Justice Center, a conservative group, has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging President Trump’s authority to impose the tariffs he announced on April 2. 

Stephen Vaden, Trump’s nominee to be agriculture deputy secretary, is one of the judges on the court. At his Senate Agriculture Committee confirmation hearing, he was careful when answering questions not to make statements that could interfere with his current role as a judge. 

The lawsuit begins, “The president of the United States claims the authority to unilaterally levy tariffs on goods imported from any and every country in the world, at any rate, calculated via any methodology — or mere caprice — immediately, with no notice, or public comment, or phase-in, or delay in implementation, despite massive economic impacts that are likely to do severe damage to the global economy.”

“If actually granted by statute, this power would be an unlawful delegation of legislative power to the executive without any intelligible principle to limit his discretion. But Congress has not delegated any such power. The statute the President invokes — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) — does not authorize the president to unilaterally issue across-the-board worldwide tariffs.”

The suit is filed on behalf of importing companies including one that imports small-production wines, spirits and sakes from six continents and another that imports fishing gear. 

The United States Court of International Trade website says it was “established under Article III of the Constitution, has nationwide jurisdiction over civil actions arising out of the customs and international trade laws of the United States.”