Exclusive: California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday afternoon plans to pursue “strategic” ties with countries that announce retaliatory tariffs against the United States, urging them to exclude California-made products from those taxes, Fox News Digital learned.
Sources from the Newsom administration told Fox News Digital that the announcement was a direct response to President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff plans.
The Newsom administration is worried that California’s almond industry will lose billions of dollars just as countries such as China, India and the European Union are trying to impose retaliatory tariffs.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom on the left is expected to weigh the run to replace White House President Donald Trump in 2028 (Fox News)
According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, almonds, the most valuable food export in California, accounts for about 20% of $23.6 billion in agricultural sales overseas and 2.5% of total exports. The state produces 80% of the world’s supply and exports most of its almond crops. Other agricultural exports Other exports include dairy products, pistachios, wine and walnuts.
California is the fifth largest economy in the world and a key engine for most of the US economic growth, with gross domestic product at $3.9 trillion, 50% bigger than the second largest state in the country. Golden State is the largest importer and second-largest exporter in the US state, with over $675 billion in two-way trade supporting millions of jobs, state officials said.
Trade with Mexico, Canada and China is also a key partner in California. Almost half of the state’s imports come from these countries, exceeding $491 billion, the $491 billion imported by California last year.
Newsom officials said the new Trump tariffs will also affect access to critical supplies, such as construction materials needed to rebuild after the Los Angeles wildfires. The US currently imposes a mandatory 14% or more on Canadian wood, potentially rising to nearly 27% this year.
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President Donald Trump holds a “foreign trade barrier” document that will make a statement on April 2, 2025 about tariffs at the Rose Garden in Washington, D.C.
State officials also said retaliatory tariffs will cause “major disruption” in the California Baja region’s cross-border supply chains, claiming that if component goods are taxed each time they cross the border, the final price of the finished product will rise and be handed over to Californians.
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“The market is going to be booming. Stocks are booming, countries are booming, and other parts of the world want to see that they have a way of trading,” Trump left the White House on Thursday.
“This is, in my opinion, one of the most important days in American history. It is a declaration of our economic independence. For many years, hardworking American citizens have been forced to sit on the sidelines at our expense,” Trump said. “But now it’s our turn to thrive, and in doing so we’ll use trillions of dollars to cut taxes and pay off our national debt.
Jamie Joseph is a US political reporter for Fox News Digital, covering transgender and cultural issues, the departments of education, health and welfare, and state legislative development.
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