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On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is scheduled to release a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s executive branch to enact international tariffs without Congressional approval.
The Governor’s Office said the legal action would argue that the International Emergency Economic Force Act, which Trump cites as imposing tariffs, would not grant him the ability to unilaterally adopt tariffs on goods imported into the United States.
“President Trump’s illegal tariffs are causing disruption to California families, businesses and our economy. It’s price hikes and threatening work,” Newsmom said in a statement. “We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to continue the chaos.”
The lawsuit marks the first time Newsom has played a leading role in any of the current 15 lawsuits California has filed against the current Trump administration, indicating a potential departure from a more modest approach to the president during Trump’s second term. Until now, atty. General Rob Bonta acted as the face of legal battles against the federal government in California, but Newsom generally maintains distance from the courtroom disputes before and after.
Under the International Emergency Economic Force Act, Trump imposes a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, a higher tax on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, and certain taxes on products and materials such as automobiles and aluminum. The president threatened additional tariffs on other countries until this summer, then suspended.
California, which the Governor’s Office said it worked for nearly $675 billion in two-way trade last year, is expected to lose billions of state revenues under Trump’s tariff policies if international commerce falls and stock market tanks fall. Mexico, Canada and China represent the state’s three largest trading partners.
“The President’s tariffs and unplanned implementation of tariffs is not only deeply troublesome, but also illegal,” Bonta said in a statement. “From farmers in Central Valley to small businesses in Sacramento to worrying about kitchen tables, Californians are seeking fallout from the effects of the president’s choice.
The Newsom’s Office said the law specifies actions the president can take if he declares a national emergency in response to a foreign national security, foreign policy or economic threat. “But tariffs are not one of them.”
According to a law description on the Congress website, Trump never used the law to place tariffs on products imported from or imported to the United States from certain countries.
The complaint argues that the law gives Congress the capacity to impose tariffs, and argues that the Northern District of California will ask the U.S. District Court to override Trump’s customs order, according to Bonta’s office.
If California ultimately wins, requiring Congress to vote in Washington to enact Trump’s tariffs will put Republican lawmakers in a vulnerable political position in medium-term elections. A recent poll from CBS News showed that 58% of Americans opposed US tariffs on imports.
Bonta will join the governor at a Central Valley press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the lawsuit.
Times staff writer Kevin Lecter contributed to this report.
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