Two Native Americans in Montana asked a court to block President U.S. Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, or at least exempt tribal members from having to pay them.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court, two members of the Blackfeet Nation point to a 1794 treaty between the U.S. and Britain that excludes indigenous people from paying duties on goods carried across the border.
They also question Trump’s justification for the tariffs: a national emergency that he said was caused by drugs flowing across the border. Declaring a national emergency “is not all-encompassing and without limitation,” lawyers for the tribe members said in the complaint.
The levies, which were announced by Trump last week, have roiled global markets and caused U.S. stocks to plunge. The president quickly drew a legal challenge from a powerful legal group backed by conservative funding, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which filed a suit in Florida on behalf of a small retail stationery business that claims it will suffer “severe” harm from tariffs on China.
Trump invoked the International Emergency Economy Powers Act of 1977 when he issued the first set of tariffs against Canada last month. But the statute “does not include the power” to levy tariffs, said lawyers for the Blackfeet members. “The IEEPA has been the basis for over 60 Executive Orders. It has never been used to impose tariffs.”
In March, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, including steel and aluminum, and 10% on energy and potash. Last week, he added 25% tariffs on Canadian cars.
Representatives of the White House, the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment lodged after regular working hours Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who is also named as a defendant, supported the tariffs in a statement Friday after the Florida suit was filed.
“For too long, America has been targeted by unfair trade practices that made our supply chain dependent on foreign adversaries, eroded our industrial base, and hurt American workers,” Noem said.
The case is Webber v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 25-cv-00026, U.S. District Court, Montana.
--With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
