Donald Trump crisis as huge legal challenge launched against 'illegal' tariffs

governor Gavin Newsom is challenging tariffs in the courts, accusing the president of overstepping his authority in . Newsom, a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, claims that the president is threatening trade in the state which is the world's

Along with attorney general, Rob Bonta, Newsom aims to challenge use of emergency legislation dating back to the 1970s to limit the impact of any . In a statement, he said: "President Trump's unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses and our economy, driving up prices and threatening jobs. We're standing up for American families who can't afford to let the chaos continue."

Earlier this month, on a day the Commander in Chief labelled "", Trump issued a blanket 10% tariff on goods exported to the by nearly one hundred countries across the world.

He further issued additional tariffs to a range of countries who he deemed to have harmed American economic interests, although the vast majority of these were later paused for 90 days.

Pre-existing , the country's largest trading partners, remain in place, whilst tariffs between China and the US have increased exponentially since "Liberation Day," with

In order to bring the tariffs into effect, the White House is relying on a statute known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA).

The Californian governor alleges that the law does not give the president permission to impose tariffs without the approval of congress and asks the court to declare the measures "unlawful and void", in a bid to prevent them being enforced.

California is the country's largest agricultural exporter and produces wine, nuts, tomatoes and rice around the world. In 2022, California exports totalled $24bn.

The legal action is not the first clash between the Californian governor and Donald Trump. As one of the most popular democrats in American politics, the governor is often referred to as "Gavin Newscum" by the president and the two exchanged a bitter war of words in the aftermath of the LA Wildfires, when Trump accused Newsom of preventing water from flowing to the affected areas.

In turn, Newsom accused the then president-elect of