California attorney general renews challenge to Trump tariff program amid forced-labor trade dispute

California Attorney General Rob Bonta renewed his opposition on July 6 to the Trump administration’s tariff program, placing the state again in a legal and policy dispute over the federal government’s use of trade powers and the effect of international duties on California’s import- and export-dependent economy.

In a statement issued by the California Department of Justice, Bonta opposed the administration’s latest tariff effort and referenced earlier multistate challenges to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The department’s announcement did not establish the current procedural status or a hearing date for every related lawsuit.

The dispute is international in scope: the administration has cited trade practices abroad, while California is contesting the legal basis for executive tariff actions. The California DOJ identified the state as the nation’s largest importer and its second-largest state exporter, and described it as the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Tariff authorities are central to the challenge

According to the California DOJ statement, California and other states had previously challenged tariffs imposed under IEEPA. Bonta’s July 6 statement continued California’s opposition to the administration’s use of federal authority to impose the duties.

The department also said the administration later invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a 10% tariff on most products worldwide. The announcement framed California’s position as a challenge to the administration’s tariff approach, rather than reporting a final court decision on the validity of the tariffs.

No final invalidation or approval of the tariff program can be inferred from Bonta’s announcement. The available materials do not provide a current ruling, a case schedule, or a definitive procedural update for each of the multistate cases referenced by the department.

Forced-labor report cited in trade dispute

The administration’s trade actions have also been tied to allegations concerning forced-labor imports. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a report on June 2 that alleged 59 countries and the European Union had failed either to prohibit forced-labor imports or to adequately enforce bans on them, according to the California DOJ.

That conclusion is the USTR’s stated position, not an independently adjudicated finding that every jurisdiction named in the report violated an international legal obligation. The source packet does not identify the individual countries cited or provide separate evidence for each alleged enforcement failure.

The report nevertheless provides a stated rationale within the wider tariff dispute: it links U.S. trade policy to the administration’s assessment of foreign governments’ enforcement of restrictions on goods connected to forced labor. California’s response focuses on the domestic legal authority used to impose tariffs and the state’s exposure to changes in global trade rules.

Later action targeted Canadian goods

The tariff conflict continued after Bonta’s July 6 statement. On July 20, the White House issued a proclamation imposing an additional 50% duty on specified Canadian products, citing what it characterized as Canadian discrimination against U.S. dairy commerce.

The proclamation scheduled those additional duties to take effect Aug. 19. It is a separate, country-specific action from the 10% worldwide tariff described in the California DOJ statement, but it underscores that the administration’s tariff policy continued to generate disputes involving foreign trading partners.

For California, the immediate consequence of Bonta’s action was the state’s renewed opposition to the federal tariff program. The next identified federal step in the materials was the Aug. 19 effective date for the additional duties on specified Canadian products. The packet does not provide an outcome or timetable for California’s related legal challenges.

Sources

• Attorney General Bonta — Once Again — Opposes Trump’s Effort to Impose Illegal Tariffs, California Department of Justice
• Imposing Additional Duties to Offset Canadian Discrimination Against U.S. Dairy Commerce, The White House