California’s US State Governor Gavin Newsom said his state would remain open to trade with China, the current American administration’s pricing policy has threatened the country’s greatest economy.
He made these remarks on Friday during an online interview with the economic weekly Nikkei Asia, according to Japanese media.
Mr. Newsom said his state was a “stable partner” in trade with China. He said California had signed a series of memoranda of Chinese provinces and municipalities and extended its relations at national level during its visit to Beijing last year.
He stressed that California had “stretched out” to China and other business partners, especially those of Asia.
World trade is not a zero -sum game, said Newsom, adding that he recognized “our interdependence”.
Regarding considerable customs duties imposed by the Administration of Donald Trump to business partners around the world, Mr. Newsom explained that if he spoke so openly on the trade policy of the federal government, it is because California was affected in a disproportionate manner compared to other American states. He pointed out that California has significant trade with Asia and that technological companies in Silicon Valley have integrated supply chains and markets in the region.
“Direct and indirect economic costs for the State of California amount to billions of dollars,” said Newsom. “This has a considerable impact on tourism, trade, small businesses, large companies (…) and reputation damage are incalculable”.
After Trump announced “reciprocal customs duties” against business partners at the beginning of April, Mr. Newsom asked savings from around the world not to impose customs duties in retaliation against Californian products. In addition, California was the first state of the country to bring legal action against the Trump administration about customs duties.
During the interview, Mr. Newsom emphasized the physical and metaphorical distance between California from the Trump administration in Washington.
“We are more than 3,000 kilometers from Washington DC and we are a distance world in terms of mentalities. I represent the most anti-top state in the United States,” he observed. “Our values are the opposite of those currently expressed by the current occupant of the White House”.
California is the greatest economy in the United States. On April 23, Mr. Newsom announced that in 2024, the nominal gross domestic product of California had exceeded Japan to rank fourth in the world, only after the United States, China and Germany, when California is estimated as a single economy.
