California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that the state is suing the Trump administration over what he calls the president’s “unlawful tariffs” on international trading partners.
“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.”
Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Newsom declared, “Donald Trump does not have the authority to impose these destructive and chaotic tariffs. America stands to lose too much. We’re taking him to court.”
California, the nation’s largest economy and most populous state, is the first to sue the Trump administration over tariffs. The lawsuit, expected to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump cited to impose the tariffs, does not grant him the power to unilaterally enact them.
“California is the largest manufacturing state in our union, one of the largest trading partners around the globe,” Newsom noted. “No state will be impacted more than California as it relates to the unilateral authority that’s been asserted by the Trump administration to impose the largest tax increases in modern American history.”
He highlighted that “In America, forty percent of goods movement comes through two ports of entry in California. About 50 percent of that from China itself.”
With over $675 billion in two-way trade supporting millions of jobs, California is the largest importer in the United States. Mexico, Canada, and China are the state’s top three export destinations, totaling nearly $67 billion in 2024—over one-third of California’s overall $183 billion in exported goods.
Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization warned that the outlook for global trade has “deteriorated sharply” due to the tariffs. The volume of world merchandise trade is now expected to decline by 0.2 percent in 2025 before posting a modest recovery of 2.5 percent in 2026. The decline is anticipated to be particularly steep in North America, where exports are forecast to drop by 12.6 percent this year.
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California sues Trump administration over 'unlawful tariffs'
cgtn.com