California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday he is seeking to persuade world leaders to spare California from retaliatory tariffs stemming from President Donald Trump's escalating trade war.
The Democratic governor took to X to make his case to countries across the world, saying that not all Americans, particularly in his administration, agree with Trump's policies.
"Donald Trump's tariffs do not represent all Americans," Newsom said in a video posted Friday. The 40 million residents of California, he said, live in "the tent pole of the U.S. economy" that represents 14% of the nation's GDP and is the fifth largest economy in the world.
"I've directed my administration to look at new opportunities to expand trade and to remind our trading partners around the globe that California remains a stable partner," he continued, asserting that his state is "ready to talk" with global trading partners.
Newsom's office said in a news release that it would work to pursue "collaborative opportunities with trading partners" that protect California's economic interests— workers, manufacturers, and businesses— and the broader supply chains linked to the state's economy.
The release added that the Newsom administration will explore ways to "support job creation and innovation in industries reliant on cross-border trade, promote economic stability for businesses and workers impacted by federal trade disruptions [and] safeguard access to critical supplies, such as construction materials needed for recovery efforts following the devastating Los Angeles firestorms."
Newsom is particularly concerned that retaliatory measures from other countries could impact California's agricultural sector, especially its almond industry, according to Fox News, which first reported the news of the agreements.
This isn't the first time lawmakers in California try to reach agreements with foreign nations bypassing the federal government. For instance, both Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown entered into agreements with other countries on climate policies, efforts accelerated because of Trump's hostility to international environmental cooperation during his first term, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Newsom's remarks came after Trump announced squeaking tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners as part of his so-called "liberation day." The tariffs include a 34% tax on imports from China and 20% on the European Union, among others, threatening to dismantle much of the architecture of the global economy, The Associated Press reports.
Trump, in a rose garden announcement on Wednesday, said he was placing elevated tariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful trade surpluses with the U.S., while imposing a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries in response to what he called an economic emergency.
"Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years," he said. "But it is not going to happen anymore."
As a result, on Thursday, stocks plummeted, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq Composite all reaching their lowest one-day drops since the economy tanked at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
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