California to defy Trump’s tariffs to allay global trade fears
California Governor Gavin Newsom said April 4, 2025 that he will seek agreements with the rest of the world to avoid the expected retaliations against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
LOS ANGELES, United States — California Governor Gavin Newsom said Friday that he will seek agreements with the rest of the world to avoid the expected retaliations against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“California is not Washington, DC,” Newsom said in a video posted to social media.
“Donald Trump’s tariffs do not represent all Americans, particularly those that I represent here in the fifth-largest economy in the world, the state of California.”
The majority of goods that enter the United States from China pass through Californian ports, and the state has considerable trade with Mexico and Canada.
These three countries represent 40 percent of California’s imports and are also the countries the state exports to most.
“The Golden State will remain a steady, reliable partner for generations to come, no matter the turbulence coming out of Washington,” Newsom added in a statement.
He did not specify how new agreements could bypass Trump’s protectionist policies.
Newsom, 57, faces term limits that bar him from running for re-election in 2026. His political ambitions remain unknown, but the Democrat is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Unmatched since the 1930s
In a trade offensive that is unprecedented since the 1930s, Trump unleashed broad spanning global tariffs this week, sending markets into a record-breaking slump and resulting in retaliatory tariffs.
Trump’s latest levies mean Chinese products must be taxed at a total of 54 percent, and those from the European Union at 20 percent.
On Friday, China retaliated by announcing additional tariffs of 34 percent on American products starting April 10, “in addition to the currently applicable tariff rates.”
“We will not stand idly by during Trump’s tariff war,” Newsom said on X.
As the most populous state in the country, with nearly 40 million inhabitants, California accounts for 14 percent of the American GDP and would be the fifth-largest economy in the world if it were a country, Newsom said.
The cradle of tech, California is also a leading manufacturer and agricultural producer in the country.
After fires ravaged Los Angeles in January, California faces concerns that tariffs will hinder the city’s reconstruction by making frequently imported construction materials like wood, steel, aluminum and drywall more expensive.
