California sues Trump administration over tariffs

California is filing a lawsuit in federal court challenging President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to enact broad-sweeping tariffs, the governor’s office announced Wednesday, arguing the levies on imports hurt states, consumers, and businesses.

The lawsuit argues that President Trump lacks the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs through the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, creating immediate and irreparable harm to California, the largest economy, manufacturing, and agriculture state in the nation, the governor’s office said.

“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 Wednesday. “We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”

The governor’s office said that the lawsuit will be filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and requests the court “to immediately enjoin the tariffs imposed by President Trump.”

Newsom had earlier announced he would seek deals with other countries with which California trades to avoid impacts from the federal tariffs, though experts questioned the extent to which such an effort can succeed.

Economists say the flurry of tariffs announced so far by the Trump administration will drive up the costs of California imports and exports with the Golden State’s top trading partners, including China, which faces a 145% tax on imports to the U.S. and has responded with its own 125% tariff on American goods.

The Trump administration has also targeted automobiles and car parts, a key trade good between Mexico and Canada, and hit the countries with an additional 25% tariff aimed at curbing fentanyl trafficking.

However, Trump administration officials announced last week that electronics such as phones, chips and computers are temporarily exempt from tariffs. California imported nearly $153 billion of computer and electronics products last year — the top good entering the state from abroad.

The lawsuit is just the latest filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat. Earlier this year, Democrats in the Legislature passed and Newsom signed an additional $25 million for Bonta’s Department of Justice to challenge Trump administration policies in court. Bonta has since sued the federal government a dozen times, including over Trump’s plans to exempt people born on U.S. soil from receiving birthright citizenship, freeze federal grants and curb billions of dollars in federal research spending.

Check back for developments on this breaking news story.