Sacramento – Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California is looking for ways to exempt international partners from global recovery as the tariffs and global financial markets have fallen over by President Trump’s presidential sweeping round.
“We are not afraid to use the power of the market to fight back and the biggest tax cuts of our lifetime,” Newsmom posted on social media platform X on Friday. videohe pointed out that 40 million California residents live in “US economy tent poles,” representing 14% of US GDP.
The news of Trump and frequently modest Democrats said he had directed his administration to “see new opportunities to expand trade and remind California’s trading partners of being a stable partner.”
“California is not Washington, DC,” Newsom told international partners in California. News Release. “The Golden State remains a stable and reliable partner for future generations, regardless of the turbulence that has emerged from Washington.”
California leads a manufacturing and agriculture country, and tariffs can have a negative impact on many sectors of the state’s economy, from the technology industry to ports. However, it is unclear exactly how Newsom’s efforts to carve out the exemption, the extent to which the state can build such exceptions, or the extent to which the resources Newsom invests in prioritizing new trade agreements will function.
Officials from the newspaper administration who demanded anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly speak about the announcement, said the state has a wide latitude to shape and target retaliatory tariffs. In a news release, the governor’s office said it would work to pursue “cooperative opportunities with trade partners” to protect California’s economic interests and the broader supply chains associated with the state’s economy.
The administration said it would explore ways to support job creation and innovation in industries that rely on cross-border trade and promote economic stability for businesses and workers affected by federal trade disruptions. [and] Protect access to critical supplies, including construction materials needed for recovery efforts following the devastating Los Angeles fire. ”
White House spokesman Kush Desai suggested Newsom had the wrong priorities.
“Gavin Newsom should focus on California’s out of control, crime, regulation and affordability,” he said.
Newsom cannot reveal Trump from tariffs. This is likely to result in lower imports and higher prices in California, said Jonathan D. Aronson, a professor at USC Annenberg, who specializes in international trade and communications. But he may be able to convince some countries not to retaliate against the state’s industry.
“California exports a lot of almonds and avocados, a lot of technology and electronics,” Aronson said. “It might be like, ‘Hey, can you target almonds? You can’t target big technology? Can’t you target these things that we specialize in?” ”
Newsom is not just a democratic governor who is trying to strengthen global business relations with foreign regions as Trump imposes tariffs. Earlier this week, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker traveled through Mexico City to sign contracts with Mexico’s most populous states, highlighting the value of bilateral trade and investment in embility and agricultural technology, manufacturing and agriculture, supply chains and investment.
“More than ever, we must reassure our Mexican neighbors that Illinois remains a beacon of economic and cultural cooperation and opportunity for our people,” Pretzker said. statement.
Newsom’s initiative is broader and potentially ambitious. But Aronson pointed out that selling to countries like China, which provide nearly 30% of California’s total imports, is a difficult message.
“China cares only about one country that is China,” he said. “How much attention does the Chinese pay to this? Who knows?”
Still, Aronson said it might be helpful to be able to convince some countries retaliating for California being more targeted, even if Newsom’s pitch is less likely to move global players.
“Nobody else is targeting California. They are targeting the US and California is getting caught up in the laundry,” Aronson said. “So, as long as we’re still a good place to deal with and can convince others that we don’t want to come here, you’re still going to do business with the US. We’re so big, so if you’re going to deal with it, we’re definitely in sane.”
Stock markets around the world fell sharply on Friday China agreed Trump’s Significant salary increases Due to customs duties Escalation of the trade war. On Thursday, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite all reached their lowest one-day decline since the economy stagnated at the start of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.
The tariffs have hit some of California’s top trading partners. Trump has placed an additional mission of 24% on Japan, 25% in South Korea and 34% on China, in addition to the 20% tariffs applied to the country over the illegal import of the deadly drug fentanyl.
Canada and Mexico have been ruled out both from baseline and what Trump calls “mutual” tariffs. The term is generally understood to mean that the exporter will charge an equal rate for imports as they charge for export. But Trump is charging higher prices.
Most of the US produces imported products such as avocados, cucumbers and mushrooms, and comes from Mexico and Canada, so sculptures can soften the effects of national grocery stores. However, the country still faces 25% taxes on certain goods and 25% tariffs on imported cars and light trucks. This week, Southern California car buyers scrambled to buy before customs duties.
“It will have a major impact on manufacturing and supply chains across California,” economist Kevin Kroden Milken Research Institute In Santa Monica, he told The Times Thursday. “We don’t have specialized manufacturing in all of these supply chains and certainly not sacrifices in the US.”
Rick Cushman, a spokesman for the California Almond Board, said the organization is closely monitoring Trump and Newsom’s announcements.
“It’s essential to maintain a diverse export program,” Cushman said. It said that California almonds are shipped to more than 100 destinations. “We will continue to work with trading partners around the world to determine what actions we will take in the export market.”
Earlier this year, Newsom’s financial advisor warned that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration could have a devastating impact on California’s economic and revenue outlook.
California is particularly vulnerable to tariffs as the large logistics industry of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, and the inland empire are heavily dependent on foreign trade.
California’s state budget could also become a huge hit if stock markets plummet due to the fear of the World Trade War. The budget relies heavily on income tax paid by the highest income holders. Revenues tend to be volatility and tend to lead to capital gains from investments, bonuses to executives, and wind drops from new stocks. When the stock market crashes, state tax revenues also crash.
Trump said the new tariffs represent a turning point for the global and for the US. He was called Wednesday “Liberation Day.”
“Our country and its taxpayers have been torn apart for over 50 years, and that’s not happening anymore, it’s not happening,” Trump said. “This is, in my opinion, one of the most important days in American history. It is a declaration of our economic independence.”
Over the past decade, California has made a focused effort to establish itself domestically and internationally as a beacon of liberal resistance to the administration. During Trump’s first term, California sued about 120 times more administration in four years, often succeeding.
In Trump’s current term of office, California Atty. General Rob Bonta’s office joined other states by rekindling its legal battle and challenging the administration on presidential lawsuits that dismantled the environment, immigration, voting rights, education policies, federal agencies and programs, and other issues.
For many years, California leaders have worked to establish relationships with foreign leaders and local government officials from other countries. Newsom and former governor Jerry Brown both signed agreements with other countries on climate policy, and efforts accelerated due to Trump’s hostility towards international environmental cooperation during his first term.
California’s recent efforts in the international trade agreement have been a modest gesture. Since 2019, the state has concluded a series of general business and trade agreements Japan, Australia, Norway, Armenia and Kyoto Province, Koreaaccording to the governor’s office. The agreement was intended to promote cooperation and cooperation between business and government officials and programs, but please do not touch on the issue of tariffs.
Times staff writers Michael Wilner, Lawrence Dalmient, Connor Seat and the Associated Press contributed to the report.
