California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has announced plans to circumvent the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. In a video statement to the public on Friday evening, Newsom said, in part, “California is not Washington, D.C. We will not sit idly by and watch Trump’s tariff war. Trump’s tariffs do not represent all American people, especially not those I represent here in the world’s fifth-largest economy, California.”
Newsom also called on countries imposing retaliatory tariffs on US products to make exceptions for California products and, in some cases, establish their own trade agreements. He did not specify how he would work around the federal regulations that apply to every US state.
California is particularly affected by tariffs and retaliatory tariffs, as a significant portion of China’s imports pass through the state’s ports. Additionally, the state is a major agricultural producer and trading partner with neighboring countries Mexico and Canada.
Newsom is considered a promising candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the next US elections.