The state of California is suing President Donald Trump over tariffs he has imposed on scores of countries, alleging that he is abusing his authority by claiming there is a national emergency that warrants unilaterally imposing tariffs without congressional approval.
The litigation makes California the first state in the country to sue Trump over his tariff plan.
The U.S. Constitution states that the power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises” (which would include tariffs) rests with the legislative branch. However, the Trump administration, in declaring a supposed “national emergency” relating to jobs and manufacturing, is imposing tariffs based on the powers conferred to Trump within the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows presidents broad economic powers in times of emergency.
While the White House claims that Trump’s tariffs will somehow bring companies and entire industries back to the U.S., or otherwise allow for negotiations between countries for better trade deals, many economists have noted that tariffs aren’t effective in protecting industries and will likely hurt the economy more than help it. Indeed, when Trump imposed similar tariffs on a smaller scale during his first term in office, it led to higher costs for consumer goods.
For California, which, if examined separately from the rest of the country, would be the world’s fifth largest economy, the tariffs could be even more devastating, with the lawsuit stating that the state “will face higher costs due to the 10 percent universal tariffs now in effect on virtually all imported goods.”
The lawsuit also notes that Trump’s tariffs have “already had devastating impacts on the economy, creating chaos in the stock and bond markets, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalization in hours, chilling investment in the face of such consequential Presidential action with no notice or process, and threatening to push the country into recession.”
“These harms will only continue to grow,” the lawsuit adds.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-California), who announced the lawsuit on Wednesday, says that Trump is overreaching his authority.
“Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose the largest tax hike of our lifetime with his destructive tariffs. We’re taking him to court,” Newsom wrote in a post on X.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), who is representing the state in the challenge to Trump’s tariffs, also expressed a need for the state to sue.
“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 said in a statement.
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