(Bloomberg) — California Governor Gavin Newsom said his state is suing to halt Donald Trump’s tariffs, setting up a high-stakes legal challenge to the president’s landmark effort to overhaul global trade.
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The state will file a complaint Wednesday in San Francisco federal court challenging Trump’s use of emergency powers to enact broad tariffs against Mexico, China and Canada, according to a statement issued by Newsom’s office. Officials cited harm to consumers and businesses in the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Newsom, a Democrat who’s considered a likely candidate to run for president in 2028, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta will seek a court order to immediately block the levies. “President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy — driving up prices and threatening jobs,” Newsom said in the statement.
Representatives for the White House didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on California’s challenge.
Trump’s unprecedented use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to impose tariffs on imports has rattled markets, prompted forecasts of a potential recession and strained relationships with overseas trading partners.
The IEEPA, passed in 1977, gives the president broad authority to regulate certain financial transactions when declaring a national emergency in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” It has traditionally been used to place sanctions on countries, companies and individuals.
Trump became the first president to use the statute to impose tariffs when he announced levies in February against China, Mexico and Canada to respond to the “extraordinary threat” of undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs moving through US borders.
The president is already facing at least three legal challenges to his tariffs, though major industries caught in the tariff crossfire have held off from any legal action for now. Two complaints were filed by conservative legal advocacy groups on behalf of small businesses, and the third by members of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana.
Justice Department lawyers have argued that all the cases filed so far should be handled by the Court of International Trade in Washington, which specializes in lawsuits against the government over trade issues, and are seeking to transfer cases filed in US district courts to the trade court.
