Following a court decision that blocks the Trump administration’s tariffs, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta hailed the ruling and reiterated their opposition to the president’s trade agenda.
A three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade granted a permanent injunction and found that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA does not authorize the tariffs challenged in Oregon v. Trump, a lawsuit by 12 attorneys general initially filed April 23.
On April 16, California filed its own lawsuit challenging the tariffs under the IEEPA in the Northern District of California federal court.
Tariff opponents claim Trump exceeded his use of emergency powers to implement broad-sweeping levies on imported products that are harmful to state economies, consumers’ personal finances and businesses’ revenue.
“Like we said when we filed our lawsuit: These tariffs are illegal, full stop,” Newsom said in a statement. “The court agreed today that Donald Trump overstepped his authority with his unlawful tariffs, which have created chaos and hurt American families and businesses.”
This month, Bonta and Newsom filed an amicus brief supporting the Oregon lawsuit’s case against the trade policy.
“The Trump Administration’s illegal tariffs harm businesses, consumers, and states across the nation and it is our responsibility as state leaders to advocate and defend our people against this chaos — this is exactly what California’s sister states have done with this case,” Bonta said in a statement. “The Court of International Trade has agreed with our sister states and with California and permanently halted the President’s illegal tariffs — IEEPA does not authorize the Trump Administration to impose these tariffs. We are pleased with the court’s decision in this case and are proud to have supported our sister states’ arguments.”
According to the Trump administration, tariffs are necessary to balance trade, boost the waning U.S. manufacturing sector, reduce illegal immigration and human trafficking, reduce the federal budget and restore fairness in trade relationships.
“For decades, the United States slashed our trade barriers on other countries, while those nations placed massive tariffs on our products and created outrageous nonmonetary barriers to decimate our industries,” Trump said in April. “They manipulated their currencies, subsidized their exports, stole our intellectual property, imposed exorbitant VAT taxes to disadvantage our products, adopted unfair rules and technical standards and created filthy pollution havens. This all happened with no response from the United States of America, but those days are over.”
Also this month, the U.S. and China agreed to a 90-day halt to tariffs during trade negotiations.
“The 90-day pause and reduction of tariffs between the United States and China is welcome news for consumers, American businesses, workers and the supply chain,” Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles executive director, said in a statement May 12. “Even with this announcement, tariffs remain elevated compared to April 1. To avoid further uncertainty and disruption of trade, both sides should work together swiftly toward a long-term agreement.”
Seroka said the U.S. should also work with other nations to reduce existing tariffs.
Mario Cordero, Port of Long Beach executive director, said while the U.S.-China negotiations are an encouraging step, “uncertainty remains, and I think what this industry is calling for is that we have certainty and clarity with regard to what that tariff policy looks like in the mid- and long-term.”
The tariffs are impacting a variety of electronics and household appliances and “with significantly reduced cargo volumes, it’s likely that the consumer will have fewer choices,” Cordero added.
Administration officials also said the tariff negotiations included discussions on fentanyl.
“This is a priority for President Trump and, indeed, the whole administration,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters earlier this month in Geneva, where trade talks with China are set. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans die every year and I think that we saw here in Geneva that the Chinese are now serious about assisting the U.S. in stopping the flow of precursor drugs.”
A copy of California’s lawsuit against the tariff policy is on the attorney general’s website.
