California on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Trump’s sweeping and chaotic tariffs on foreign trading partners, accusing him of abusing his powers and inflicting financial harm on the state and nation.
“President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy — driving up prices and threatening jobs,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”
Trump imposed 10% tariffs on goods from all countries and higher tariffs for countries the administration says have high barriers to U.S. imports, most of which he later paused for 90 days. He also imposed a 145% tariff on China, with exceptions for certain electronics.
China has retaliated with a 125% tariff against the U.S., and the European Union has approved tariffs to retaliate as well, though they are currently paused.
In executive orders imposing the tariffs, Trump has invoked laws including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which gives presidents special powers to combat unusual or extraordinary threats to the U.S. The Republican president has said that the United States’ net trade deficit relative to the rest of the world is a national emergency endangering its manufacturing capacity and making it dependent on foreign adversaries.
In Wednesday’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, Newsom and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, both Democrats, allege that the 1977 law does not give the president the power to impose sweeping tariffs without the consent of Congress by unreasonably declaring a state of emergency.
California, which on its own would be the world’s fifth-largest economy and whose main trading partners are China, Mexico and Canada, has already been harmed and stands to be harmed further if the tariffs remain in place, Newsom and Bonta allege.
The state is a major importer and exporter. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach rank first and second in the nation for volume of cargo, with the port of Oakland in 8th place.
The lawsuit asks the court to bar Customs and Border Protection from enforcing the tariffs.
The Trump administration already faces two similar lawsuits. One is in the New York-based Court of International Trade by the business advocacy group Liberty Justice Center seeking to block all of the tariffs, and the other lawsuit is in Florida federal court by a small business owner seeking to block the tariffs on China.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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