A legal advocacy group on Thursday sued President Donald Trump over the 20% tariffs he imposed on China leading up to his new tariffs, arguing the law he used to authorize them were intended for sanctions.

The lawsuit comes after Trump increased tariffs on China as part of his broader order that targeted all imported goods. Trump first hit China with a 10% tariff, that later doubled to 20% last month. But on Wednesday, the latest increase means the tariff total for China is now 54%.

The nonprofit New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Florida, on behalf of a local business that sells planners and buys products from China, according to The Hill.

The NCLA argued that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), which Trump used to impose the tax, freezes economic sanctions, and other assets, but not tariffs.  

“Congress passed the IEEPA to counter external emergencies, not to grant presidents a blank check to write domestic economic policy,” the lawsuit argues. "In the IEEPA’s almost 50-year history, no previous president has used it to impose tariffs. Which is not surprising, since the statute does not even mention tariffs, nor does it say anything else suggesting it authorizes presidents to tax American citizens."

The nonprofit asked the federal judge to block the new tariffs against China from going into effect, and declare them as unlawful. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.