(The Center Square) — New York Democrats have joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's tariff policy, with Gov. Kathy Hochul arguing the move is unlawful and has hurt the state's economy.

Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James were among a dozen mostly Democratic-led states that signed onto Wednesday's legal challenge, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade. It argues that Trump did not have the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to implement the tariffs and seeks a preliminary injunction blocking the tariffs from being imposed.

Hochul said Trump’s "reckless" tariffs have caused consumer costs to skyrocket and that the president's on-again, off-again trade policies have "unleashed economic chaos" across the country.

"New York is standing up to fight back against the largest federal tax hike in American history,” Hochul said in a statement. “Attorney General James and I are partnering on this litigation on behalf of New York consumers, because we can't let President Trump push our country into a recession."

New York Democrats warned the tariffs could spark a recession, with the potential to cost more than 35,000 jobs in New York City alone. They said the state's taxpayers would be forced to cover more than $100 million in additional costs because of increased prices.

“The president does not have the power to raise taxes on a whim, but that’s exactly what President Trump has been doing with these tariffs,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

A White House spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as a "witch hunt" and defended the Trump administration’s authority to impose tariffs to correct a trade imbalance and confront other "national emergencies" such as illegal immigration and cross-border drug trafficking.

“Once again, Democrats like Letitia James are prioritizing a witch hunt against President Trump over protecting the safety and wellbeing of their constituents," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The Trump Administration remains committed to using its full legal authority to confront the distinct national emergencies our country is currently facing — both the scourge of illegal migration and fentanyl flows across our border and the exploding annual U.S. goods trade deficit."

Besides New York, the lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont.

Trump invoked the IEEPA to authorize his tariffs against China, Mexico, Canada, and other countries, a majority of which remain in hold. The president said Wednesday he could re-impose “reciprocal” tariffs on some countries within weeks, ratcheting up a global trade war that has raised fears about the impact of rising costs on businesses and consumers and the possibility of an economic recession.

Last week, a group of small business owners represented by the Liberty Justice Center, a legal advocacy group, filed a lawsuit in the international court arguing on behalf of five businesses that it said have been “severely harmed” by the tariffs.

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