Newsom to world: California open for business

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) directed California to pursue “strategic partnerships” with foreign trading partners and is calling for California-made products to be exempted from the retaliatory tariffs targeting the U.S. in light of President Trump slapping massive tariffs on the majority of countries around the world. 

“Donald Trump's tariffs do not represent all Americans,’ Newsom said in a video that was released on Friday. 

Newsom, in the brief clip, said that California, which is the planet's fifth-largest economy and whose agriculture is the engine of the state economy, is looking to support "stable trading relationships around the globe,” adding that is why he directed his administration to find new “opportunities to expand trade and to remind our trading partners around the globe that California remains a stable partner.” 

The president rolled out a new tariff agenda on Wednesday, setting a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports coming into the country, along with more costly reciprocal duties on dozens of other countries. Trump and his administration have argued that tariffs are necessary to spur the return of manufacturing to the U.S. and that Washington has long been entangled in “unfair” economic deals with its allies and trading partners. 

In response, global markets have gone down while other countries are gearing up to offer retaliation. China, one of the U.S.’s main trading partners, announced on Friday that it would impose a 34 percent tariff that is set to go into effect next week. 

Trump told investors to buy low, arguing now is a “GREAT” time to get rich. 

California is the largest exporter of almonds. The seed is the state’s most valuable food export, with $4.7 billion in foreign sales in 2022. Newsom is concerned that because of the new tariffs, which he called a “largest tax hike of our lifetime,” the state’s almond industry could lose out to India or China, according to Fox News Digital, which first reported on the announcement. 

White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to The Hill’s sister network NewsNation that Newsom “should focus on out-of-control homelessness, crime, regulations, and unaffordability in California instead of trying his hand at international dealmaking.”