California is suing the Trump administration over its tariffs, accusing President Donald Trump of overstepping his authority in upending the global trade order and causing “immediate and irreparable harm” to California’s economy.
The lawsuit, announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday morning, challenges Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners. It is set to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday.
The lawsuit will argue that Trump’s use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to enact tariffs — which allowed him to skip over certain procedures — is “unlawful and unprecedented.” His tariffs are creating “immediate and irreparable harm to California, the largest economy, manufacturing, and agriculture state in the nation,” Newsom’s office said.
“Californians are bracing for fallout from the impact of the President’s choices — from farmers in the Central Valley, to small businesses in Sacramento, and worried families at the kitchen table — this game the President is playing has very real consequences for Californians across our state,” Bonta added in a statement.
California is the first state to sue the Trump administration over its tariffs. Trump’s haphazard approach to the tariffs has led to deep anxiety across the global economy, and they pose an especially large threat to California’s economy, which is the fifth-largest in the world.
In response to news of the lawsuit, White House spokesman Kush Desai told CNBC in a statement: “Instead of focusing on California’s rampant crime, homelessness, and unaffordability, Gavin Newsom is spending his time trying to block President Trump’s historic efforts to finally address the national emergency of our country’s persistent goods trade deficits.”
Newsom, who is widely seen as a Democratic contender in the 2028 presidential election, has sought to reassure his state’s trade partners, independent of the U.S. government. But with increased tariff rates for three of its largest trading partners — Mexico, Canada and China — already in effect, there’s likely only so much California can do alone.