Shipping containers parked at the Union Pacific Railroad intermodal facility which specializes in rail services for freight and passengers on April 16, 2025 in Commerce, California. Photo: VCG

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's spate of tariffs that have upended global trade, becoming the first US state to file legal action against the administration, BBC reported, noting that California is the first US state to file legal action against the Trump administration over the tariffs.

A Chinese expert observed that the recent legal challenge reflects growing discontent over the tariff policies at the local government level, as tariffs inflict dual harm through slowing economic growth and systemic uncertainty, and more and more voices of opposition will likely emerge.

"These tariffs have disrupted supply chains, inflated costs for the state and Californians, and inflicted billions in damages on California's economy, the fifth largest in the world," according to a statement published on California's government website.

The Trump administration'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," Newsom said in the statement.

"No other state will be more impacted by the impacts of the toxic uncertainty of these tariffs. California is the largest hunting, fishing, agriculture, forestry state in this nation," Newsom wrote in a post on social media platform X.

California's economy and workers rely heavily on this trade activity, particularly with Mexico, Canada, and China - our top 3 trade partners. Over 40 percent of California imports come from these countries, totaling $203 billion of the more than $491 billion in goods imported by California in 2024. These countries are also our top three export destinations, buying nearly $67 billion in California exports, which was over one-third of the state's $183 billion in exported goods in 2024, according the statement.  

In the lawsuit, expected to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, California officials will argue that the law, known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump cited to impose the tariffs, does not grant him the ability to unilaterally adopt those tariffs, Xinhua reported. 

In addition, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is raising alarm bells over tariffs under consideration by the Trump administration, saying they'll end up costing American families thousands of dollars, The Hill reported on Wednesday.

Beshear, in a message posted on social media, said the tariffs would cost an average family an extra $4,700 a year. "That's months upon months upon months of groceries. That's months upon months of rent. That might be your entire annual deductible if you've got private health insurance coverage," he said, according to the report.

"No family will be able to get through that without being severely impacted and for those that are struggling to pay bills at the end of the month, it's enough to put you under," he said.

"California's lawsuit represents the voice of opposition at the local government level, and to certain extent reflects the discontent of many Americans in certain sectors toward the tariff policies, because tariffs have brought not only economic harm but also the panic of uncertainty to the common people," Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Thursday.

More US organizations and groups are expected to respond as increasingly more voices of opposition have already been emerging, he said.

While California is the first state to file legal action against the Trump administration over the levies, several other lawsuits filed by small businesses and a civil rights group have similarly challenged Trump's authority on the matter, according to media reports.

A legal advocacy group on Monday asked the US Court of International Trade to block the US government's sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners, arguing the president overstepped his authority, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit was filed by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small US businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the tariffs. The businesses range from a New York wine and spirits importer to a Virginia-based maker of educational kits and musical instruments, according to the report.