The lawsuit argues that President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China or a 10% tariff on all imports is unlawful. The act enables a president to freeze and block transactions in response to foreign threats but doesn’t allow the president to adopt tariffs, the suit says.

LOS ANGELES, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of California on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit to block the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs, claiming that the policy hurts families, small businesses and the state's economy.