Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield sued to overturn tariffs imposed by President Trump, leading a 12-state coalition that argues trade deficits are insufficient to justify tariffs.

The lawsuit was filed April 23 in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York. The lawsuit draws heavily on alleged harms to Oregon public institutions.

The University of Oregon bought optical equipment in November for $182,733. By the time it arrived from Switzerland in April, the cost for delivery was $18,579 higher because of a new tariff, according to the complaint.

“These tariffs hit every corner of our lives — from the checkout line to the doctor’s office — and we have a responsibility to push back,” Rayfield said in a statement.

Trump has imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and a blanket 10% tariff on other countries. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act authorizes the president to regulate foreign transactions to stop an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”

The White House argues trade deficits are a threat because they are making the country more reliant on other countries for vital products, including food.

In their complaint, Oregon and the other states argue the emergency powers act is intended to allow the president to respond if a hostile power were importing items into the U.S. for nefarious purposes.

Persistent trade deficits are not unusual or extraordinary, according to the states, which take the position that tariffs will harm them because government bodies will have a harder time budgeting.

Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs April 2 on 57 countries. He paused the tariffs on April 10 for 90 days to give time for the U.S. to negotiate trade deals with each country.

Trump said April 23 he might start imposing tariffs in two or three weeks. “We’ve been ripped off by every country in the world, practically — friend and foe,” he said.

Some 90 countries have reached out, according to the administration. “They all want to make deals. We’re going to make deals,” Trump said.

The states in their lawsuit complained Trump makes, modifies, escalates and suspends tariffs by executive order, memoranda, social media posts and agency decrees.

“These edicts reflect a national trade policy that now hinges on the president’s whims rather than the sound exercise of his lawful authority,” the lawsuit reads.

The other states joining Oregon in the suit are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.

The state asked the court’s chief judge, Mark Barnett, to appoint a three-judge panel to hear the complaint.