California filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration, arguing that he lacks the authority to implement widespread tariffs.
On April 2, Trump announced tariffs on countries with which America has a trade imbalance. A week later, except for China, he suspended those tariffs for 90 days. The communist country has a tariff of 145 percent on its goods.
The president also put a 10 percent tariff on all goods coming to America.
In its lawsuit, California says Trump relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to make these tariff rates.
IEEPA gives the United States president “ national emergency powers to investigate and impose controls on transactions as well as freeze foreign assets under the jurisdiction of the United
States.”
However, California says that setting tariff rates is not one of those powers; instead, the Constitution gives Congress the power to impose tariffs.
California states that Trump’s tariffs devastated the country’s economy and stock market. The lawsuit claims that Trump’s tariffs will shrink America’s economy by $100 million yearly.
Furthermore, in its lawsuit, California says these tariffs harm its residents and small businesses. The lawsuit says California has the fifth-largest economy in the world.
California seeks to have “declaratory and injunctive relief” issued to block Trump’s tariffs.
“President Trump has claimed a wholly unconstrained authority to unilaterally impose
unprecedented tariffs on every single trading partner of the United States,” the lawsuit says. “The President does not have the authority to act unilaterally.”
The state filed this lawsuit on Wednesday in a California district court.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said California is “standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Trump’s tariffs are deeply troubling and illegal.
“This game the President is playing has very real consequences for Californians across our state,” Bonta said.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.
Photo “Gavin Newsom” by Gavin Newsom.
