Gavin Newsom Using Oozy Charm on Countries to Bypass Trump Tariff Penalties

Aw. You’ve got to give him credit for hustlin’ where no one asked him to be, but danged if there aren’t cameras to catch him workin’ it.

Gavin Toothsome Newsom is summoning up his brilliant smile and easy peasy laid-back energy to do an end-run around the Trump tariff strategy.

Hello world, the governor said [INSERT: brilliant smile]. 

Donald Trump does not speak ‘for all Americans.’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded with foreign countries Friday to exempt California from any retaliatory tariffs they slap on U.S. goods, saying his state’s businesses shouldn’t suffer for President Trump’s policies.

Mr. Newsom said his state will try to strengthen its independent trading relations with other countries to try to blunt the effects of Mr. Trump slapping a minimum 10% tariff on most imports, plus higher reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries the president believes have unfair trading barriers.

“Donald Trump’s tariffs do not represent all Americans, particularly those that I represent,” Mr. Newsom said.

The Democrat called his state “a stable trading partner” and asked other nations to “consider that as it relates to California-made products.”

A bold strategy, my man.

Look how big we are! Ignore the Orange Man.

TO OUR TRADING PARTNERS AROUND THE GLOBE — California is here and ready to talk.

We will not sit idly by during Trump’s tariff war.

We make up 14% of the US GDP. We’re the 5th largest economy in the world.

We’re not scared to use our market power to fight back against the… pic.twitter.com/yTfbcWW1sO

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 4, 2025

Newsom’s state gets forty percent of its imports from our two closest neighbors and our biggest competitor – Canada, Mexico, and China. But he’s also over a barrel because no matter how smooth the pitch, there’s little he can do to alleviate whatever tariffs Trump chooses to enforce on countries and vice versa.

…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.

More than 40 percent of California’s imports originate from those three countries.

The Democratic governor’s administration is concerned about the impact that retaliatory tariffs would have on farmers and the state’s efforts to rebuild homes after the raging wildfires that engulfed parts of Los Angeles in January. Construction materials, such as steel and aluminum, are hit by tariffs.

It remains unclear how exactly Newsom is planning to exempt California from foreign tariffs.

The governor is unable to negate or override Trump’s tariffs, as the Constitution forbids states from enacting tariffs on imports or exports without express approval from Congress.

CA’s chief executive has also been one of the principle architects of its current vulnerability to tariff impacts, as 75% of the state’s fuel oil is now imported from foreign sources thanks to his zealous adherence to climate cult driven decarbonization goals.

Thanks to Newsom driving the oil companies out of the state and with the most recent Phillips 66 refinery shuttering last October, the state now needs to import at least 17% of its refined gasoline and oil products as well. That percentage will increase even more when there are refinery issues. 

…California for decades produced enough gasoline to supply almost all of its own needs, but the era of self-sufficiency is coming quickly to an end.

The Phillips 66 refinery complex in Wilmington and Carson now produces 1.3 billion gallons of gasoline annually, which will leave a huge gap to be filled after its planned closure late next year. With no pipelines into the state, and no plans to add new refineries, California will need to make up for the deficit with imports via ocean tanker — in what analysts say will be a costly endeavor, and one with inherent risks of supply disruptions.

“This is going to make California even more dependent on a longer supply chain. Not only will we see average upward pressure on prices, but probably volatility to prices as well,” said Skip York, chief energy strategist for industry consultant Turner, Mason & Co.

California imports about 1.1 billion gallons of gasoline annually, or 8% of its supply, after other refinery closures or conversions in recent years. With the loss of the Phillips plant, the state will need to import as much as 17% of its supply to make up the deficit.

This in a state that once handled the soup to nuts of every phase of oil and refinery production with gasoline and product to spare.

And now look at them. The LA Times talks about volatility being an ‘upward pressure’ on what are already the highest gasoline prices in the country?

No wonder Newsom’s doing a soft shoe begging for mercy.

Those tariffs hit for any length of time on fossil fuel imports from the countries that he’s tethered his state’s lifeline to, and prices are going to go wild.

It won’t be Trump’s fault, either.

Thank a Green Weenie for your pain at the pump.

Naturally, the White House was quick to clap back at the grandstanding. It’s not as if Newsom’s house is in such good order that he has time to waste tilting at international windmills to save his state from himself.

…Newsom’s announcement was swiftly criticized by several lawmakers in California, as well as the White House.

“Gavin Newsom should focus on out-of-control homelessness, crime, regulations, and unaffordability in California instead of trying his hand at international dealmaking,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai late on Friday.

A California almond grower I heard on Fox radio being interviewed about the tariffs and Newsom said yeah, nice of the governor to make the pitch. But in his world, Newsom’s overregulation and environmental meddling were far bigger problems for his industry and an impediment to success than any tariffs might be. Plus, they’ve already survived one tariff war with the Chinese, while the other problems are immediate and pressing.

 So perhaps the governor could stop making videos and get to work on those. Let Trump get the tariff thing straightened out once and for all.

…That came just days after President Donald Trump outlined a baseline levy of 10% on goods imported from foreign countries and “individualized reciprocal higher” tariffs on certain nations. 

“We do understand that things like this can help us into the future, so that is something I’m hopeful,” Jenny Holtermann, a fourth-generation almond farmer, told Gorden of the tariffs. “I don’t see this as a short game. This is a long game that he is, you know, helping to try and fix, so we see that, and we hope that for generations to come, we’re able to keep our family farms sustaining.”

Gorden reported retaliatory tariffs were “not unfamiliar territory” for California almond farmers, noting a University of California study pegged losses from foreign trade retaliation between 2018 and 2022 to past U.S. tariffs at nearly $900 million for the state’s almond producers. 

…Some almond farmers want Newsom to “focus on California, focus on reducing regulations and make sure there’s enough water for farmers” in the Central Valley, according to Gorden.

I don’t think there’s much chance of Newsom helping any agriculture out any time soon, other than paying lip service on camera.

It’s hard to get sexy, freedom-fighting, anti-Trump clips for your 2028 presidential campaign if you’re not making little videos.

Besides – Newsom doesn’t really seem to like those farming people very much anyway.