California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his lawsuit against President Donald Trump over his sweeping tariffs, claiming the fees are "wreaking chaos" in his state, which is responsible for the largest economy in the U.S. and the fifth-largest globally, the Guardian reports.
The lawsuit, which is the first by a state in response to Trump's global trade war, challenges the president's invoking of emergency powers to impose tariffs on imports following a recent plunge in the stock market and fears of a potential recession.
“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 obtained by the Guardian Wednesday (April 16) morning. “We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”
Trump issued a series of declarations imposing, reversing, delaying, restarting and modifying tariffs on global trading partners recently in adherence with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Newsom's complaint argues that the law doesn't give the president the authority to impose tariffs without the approval of Congress and seeks that the court declare the levies "unlawful and void," as well as ordering the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection to stop enforcing them.
“The president’s chaotic and haphazard implementation of tariffs is not only deeply troubling, it’s illegal,” said California attorney general Rob Bonta in a statement. “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 game the president is playing has very real consequences for Californians across our state.”