Governor Gavin Newsom pleaded with foreign trading partners on Friday to consider exempting California from their potential retaliatory tariffs in response to the Trump administration’s new tariffs set to take effect in the coming days.
California, the world’s fifth largest economy, makes up 14 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. The state’s economy will be particularly hurt by foreign nations’ tariffs on U.S. products, considering manufactured goods account for 87 percent of the state’s total exports.
Newsom announced he directed his administration to explore “new opportunities” with key trading partners and emphasized that California is not the same as Washington, D.C., in an appeal to world leaders.
“Donald Trump’s tariffs do not represent all Americans, particularly those I represent here in the fifth largest economy in the world, the state of California,” he said in a video. “California is a stable trading partner, and we hope you consider that as it relates to California-made products.”
California is the leading state for the nation’s agricultural and manufacturing sectors, as well as home to the most Fortune 500 companies ahead of Texas and Florida.
California’s key trading partners are Canada, Mexico, and China — the last of which is planning to place a 34 percent retaliatory tariff on American imports next week to match President Donald Trump’s new tariff rate on China. The steep U.S. tariff adds to the pre-existing 20 percent tariff on Chinese goods.