US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are greeted by California Governor Gavin Newson upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
California on Wednesday is set to sue President Donald Trump to halt his sweeping tariff regime, arguing that he is implementing his protectionist trade agenda illegally.
The forthcoming federal lawsuit will make California the first state to challenge the Trump administration over its wide-ranging tariff plans, which have whipped up historic market volatility and frayed America’s relationships with its allies and trading partners.
“Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose the largest tax hike of our lifetime with his destructive tariffs,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X. “We’re taking him to court.”
The lawsuit will argue that Trump’s use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act — which he recently invoked to impose his so-called reciprocal tariff plan — is “unlawful and unprecedented,” Newsom’s office told NBC News.
The situation creates “immediate and irreparable harm to California, the largest economy, manufacturing, and agriculture state in the nation,” the office said.
The suit being filed in U.S. District Court in northern California will seek to have Trump’s tariffs declared void.
Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta are set to hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. ET announcing the suit.
“The President’s chaotic and haphazard implementation of tariffs is not only deeply troubling, it’s illegal,” Bonta said in a statement to NBC.
“As the fifth largest economy in the world, California understands global trade policy is not just a game,” Bonta said.
“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 is developing news. Please check back for updates.
