Governor Newsom of California Sues President Trump Over Tariffs

As of April 17, 2025, the Governor of California Gavin Newsom alongside California Attorney General Rob Bonata announced their plans to sue President Donald Trump under Supreme Court jurisdiction over President Trump’s recent imposing of taxes amongst various countries, including Mexico, China, and Canada. When establishing this new 10% across the board tariff, Trump utilized the IEEPA, or the International Economic Emergency Powers Act which Governor Newsom argues is unlawful and unprecedented. The IEEPA was enacted in 1977 and provides the President the ability to “hit pause” or take economic action when there is an established, and proven national emergency involving foreign influence or threats. The issue remains in the terms of the IEEPA, as its intended use is for sanctions and financial restrictions when in emergency, while taxes lie at the responsibility of Congress, commonly through trade laws. This is the first time a president has utilized this act to impose tariffs, causing an exuberant amount of controversy. In the past, the Supreme Court has utilized the Major Questions Doctrine, which questions the authority in which major initiatives are being passed. Initiatives and laws that affect the country as a whole cannot lie on the decisions of a single, statutory authority but rather need to go through the process of receiving congressional approval. In this case, it is lacking said approval and assumed to be considered a major violation of authority and against the law. California has a major role in the U.S. economy, funding 83 billion more than they receive in federal funding in order to stimulate national economic growth. 40% of California’s imports come from countries affected by the recent tariffs, 203 billion dollars of goods imported of more than 491 billion dollars of total goods imported by the state. Mexico, Canada, and China, being the countries top 3 trade partners, retaliating and being affected by the recent tariffs means California will be making less in terms of dollars of good imported, and therefore making less GDP as a state and less able to provide their extra funds to the federal government, resulting in a loss for the country as a whole. Governor Newsom, in an attempt to reconcile relations with the effects of the tariffs, recently announced his initiative to create new strategic trade relationships with international partners in order to strengthen their role in the economy and protect those working and affecting the economy of California. He has also issued an international campaign that endorses strong tourism between California and Canada.