California Sues Trump Administration for 'Illegal' Abuse of Tariff Policy

The state of California, the largest in the U.S. by population and economic size, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on the issue of tariffs on the 16th.

California is the first state in the U.S. to sue the Trump administration over tariffs.

California Governor Newsom criticized the Trump administration's abuse of tariff policy as 'illegal', causing serious chaos and damage to the U.S. economy.

In a statement, he said President Trump's 'illegal tariffs' are wreaking havoc on California's families, businesses, and economy, driving up prices and threatening jobs. These tariffs have disrupted supply chains, increased costs for California and its residents, and caused billions of dollars in losses to California's economy.

Newsom also stated on social media that Trump has no authority to impose such destructive and chaotic tariffs, as the U.S. has suffered greatly from these tariff policies.

He stated that California is the largest manufacturing state in the U.S., and the Trump administration's tariffs represent the largest tax increase in modern American history, with no other state being more affected than California.

According to a statement released by the California Governor's office on the same day, the lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California Federal District Court will request the court to declare the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration invalid and prohibit their implementation.

The statement emphasized that Trump has no right to unilaterally impose tariffs on countries like Mexico, China, and Canada, or impose a 10% tariff on all or some goods. The use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by Trump to set tariff policy is 'illegal and unprecedented'.

According to data released by the California Governor's office, California is the strongest state in the U.S. economy with a GDP of $3.9 trillion in 2023 and a total import and export trade of nearly $675 billion (approximately 2,977.4 billion ringgit) in 2024. California is the largest import state in the U.S.; for exports, Mexico, Canada, and China are California's three top export destinations, accounting for more than one-third of the state's $183 billion in total export goods in 2024.