California has filed a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, arguing that he lacks the legal authority to impose them unilaterally and that the measures are inflicting significant economic harm on the state.
The lawsuit, brought on by California’s governor Gavin Newsom and attorney general Rob Bonta, seeks to have the tariffs declared void and their enforcement blocked.
California alleges that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on countries such as Mexico, Canada, and China, as well as a blanket 10% tariff on all imports, is unlawful.
The state argues that IEEPA does not grant the president the authority to enact tariffs without Congressional approval.
“President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses and our economy, driving up prices and threatening jobs,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”
Bonta added: “The president’s chaotic and haphazard implementation of tariffs is not only deeply troubling, it’s illegal.”
Trump has justified the tariffs as necessary to boost US manufacturing and combat the flow of illegal fentanyl.