SCOOP: Newsom asks world leaders to exempt California exports from retaliatory tariffs

EXCLUSIVE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans Friday morning directing the state to pursue “strategic” relationships with countries announcing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., urging them to exclude California-made products from those taxes, Fox News Digital exclusively learned first.

“Donald Trump’s tariffs do not represent all Americans,” Newsom said in a video announcement posted to X. “And on behalf of 40 million Americans that live in the great state of California, the tentpole of the U.S. economy … the dominant manufacturing state in America, our state of mind is around supporting stable trading relationships around the globe.”

Sources in Newsom’s administration told Fox News Digital on Thursday night the announcement was a direct response to President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff plan, which sets out a baseline duty of 10% on all imports to the U.S. and some higher percentages for other top traders. 

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Newsom added he’s directed his administration to seek out new opportunities to “expand trade” and “remind trading partners around the world that California remains a stable partner.”

The Newsom administration is worried that California’s almond industry, a major agricultural exporter, will lose billions of dollars as nations like China, India and the European Union move to impose retaliatory tariffs.

“Gavin Newsom should focus on out-of-control homelessness, crime, regulations, and unaffordability in California instead of trying his hand at international dealmaking,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Fox News Digital on Friday morning.

Individual states do not have the legal authority to independently negotiate or make global trading deals regarding tariffs, according to the Constiution. Trade policy, including tariffs, is a power reserved for the federal government. Specifically, the Constitution grants Congress the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations in Article 1 Section 8, and this includes the power to impose tariffs and negotiate trade agreements.

Almonds, California’s most valuable food export, account for about 20% of the state’s $23.6 billion in agricultural sales abroad and 2.5% of its total exports, according to the California Department of Food & Agriculture. The state produces 80% of the world’s supply and exports the majority of its almond crop. Other top agricultural exports include dairy products, pistachios, wine and walnuts.

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California boasts of being the fifth-largest economy in the world, a vital engine for much of U.S. economic growth, with a gross domestic product of $3.9 trillion — 50% larger than Texas, the nation’s second-largest state. The Golden State is the largest importer and second-largest exporter among U.S. states, with more than $675 billion in two-way trade supporting millions of jobs, state officials said.

Trade with Mexico, Canada and China are also key partners for California, as nearly half of the state’s imports come from these countries, totaling $203 billion of the more than $491 billion in goods imported by California last year. 

A Newsom official said the new Trump tariffs also will affect access to critical supplies, like construction materials, needed to rebuild after the Los Angeles wildfires. The U.S. currently imposes a duty of over 14% on Canadian lumber, with the rate potentially rising to nearly 27% in 2025. 

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State officials charged the retaliatory tariffs will cause “major disruptions” to cross-border supply chains in the California-Baja region, arguing that if component goods are taxed each time they cross the border, the final price of the finished product will increase and be passed onto Californians.

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“The markets are going to boom,” Trump said Thursday leaving the White House. “The stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom, and the rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal.”

“This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It’s our declaration of economic independence. For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense,” Trump said. “But now it’s our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt, and it’ll all happen very quickly.”