California Continues its Challenges to Trump Tariffs
California continues its ongoing challenge to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy with two new legal actions. California officials have argued that the tariffs have directly harmed California’s economy and its state budget.
In the first action, Attorney General Rob Bonta requested a preliminary injunction in the case challenging Trump’s authority to impose tariffs. Bonta filed the lawsuit April 16, 2025, arguing that Trump’s tariffs announced April 2, 2025 are not authorized under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA).
“President Trump has overstepped his authority, and now families, businesses, and our ports are literally paying the price,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “As the largest economy in the nation, California has the most to lose from President Trump’s weak and reckless policies.”
Bonta stated that “Trump’s chaotic tariff war is threatening to skyrocket the cost of living for families, lower wages, slash jobs, and throw business owners and innovators into a spiral of uncertainty.”
Bonta also filed an amicus brief in the Court of International Trade in Oregon v. Trump, a case challenging Trump’s authority to impose “emergency” tariffs. In that case, 12 U.S. states, including California, argue that Congress did not grant the president the authority to impose the tariffs and that Trump’s trade edicts reflect a “national trade policy that now hinges on the president’s whims rather than the sound exercise of his lawful authority.”