California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that the western U.S. state, which has the largest economy in the nation, is suing the Trump administration over the president's sweeping "unlawful tariffs" on international trading partners.

"President Trump's unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy – driving up prices and threatening jobs," Newsom said in a statement. "We're standing up for American families who can't afford to let the chaos continue."

"Donald Trump does not have the authority to impose these destructive and chaotic tariffs. America stands to lose too much," the governor posted on X. "We're taking him to court."

California, the most populous U.S. state, is the first in the nation to sue the Trump administration over tariffs.

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.

"California is the largest manufacturing state in our union, one of the largest trading partners around the globe. No state will be impacted more than the state of California as it relates to the unilateral authority that's been asserted by the Trump administration to impose the largest tax increases in modern American history," Newsom said.

He noted that, "In America, forty percent of goods movements in this country come through two ports of entry in California. About 50 percent of that from China itself."

The Golden State is the largest importer in the U.S., with more than $675 billion in two-way trade supporting millions of jobs. Mexico, Canada and China are California's top three export destinations, totaling nearly $67 billion in 2024, which was over one-third of the state's overall $183 billion in exported goods, according to data released by the governor's office.

The World Trade Organization warned on Wednesday that the outlook for global trade has "deteriorated sharply" in the wake of Trump's tariffs.

Based on the tariffs currently in place, and including a 90-day suspension of "reciprocal tariffs," the volume of world merchandise trade is now expected to decline by 0.2 percent in 2025, before posting a "modest" recovery of 2.5 percent in 2026.

The decline is anticipated to be particularly steep in North America, where exports are forecast to drop by 12.6 percent this year.

(With input from Xinhua)