California is suing President Donald Trump’s administration over the tariffs it has imposed on most of the U.S.’s trading partners, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday, the first state to do so since Trump announced his sweeping tariffs earlier this month.
Speaking from a Central Valley almond farm, Newsom laid out the state’s place in the global economy and the impacts the tariffs are having and will have on the state.
“No state is poised to lose more than the state of California,” Newsom said.
The governor said 43% of that state’s almonds, pistachios and dairy products are export-dependent from California and the uncertainty over how much the state could suffer from the tariffs is “pronounced and profound.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as California Attorney General Rob Bonta, left, listens, during a press conference, April 16, 2025, at an almond farm in Ceres, Calif.
KFSN
The state’s lawsuit targets Trump’s use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act that Trump is using the as justification for the tariffs and is similar to one filed Monday by a group of small businesses against the administration.
Newsom and Bonta argued that tariffs are the responsibility of Congress and not the president and they allege Trump invented “bogus” national emergencies to claim jurisdiction. They said they’re asking the court to “rein in the president.”
The governor called the lawsuit “a lock.” Bonta said the lawsuit is the 14th one California has filed against the administration since Trump took office.
Cranes unload cargo shipping containers from a Yang Ming container ship at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, Calif., April 15, 2025.
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Newsom said he is working to make his own trade deals with other countries, trying to get California-made products exempted from retaliatory tariffs from other countries.
White House spokesman Kush Desai blasted Newsom for trying to block Trump’s tariffs in a statement to ABC News.
“Instead of focusing on California’s rampant crime, homelessness, and unaffordability, Gavin Newsom is spending his time trying to block President Trump’s historic efforts to finally address the national emergency of our country’s persistent goods trade deficits,” he said.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.