California would suffer the ‘most of any state’ under Trump’s proposed tariffs, Gavin Newsom says

California will suffer devastating economic impacts if Donald Trump follows through on his promise to impose a tariff of 25% on Mexican imports, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

Newsom appeared at the Otay Mesa border crossing near San Diego alongside business leaders and State Sen. Steven Padilla, D-Coachella, to emphasize the Golden State’s reliance on business with Mexico, its largest trade partner. Mexico bought nearly 19% of all California exports last year, which totaled $33.3 billion, according to the state Chamber of Commerce.

“There’s no state that will be impacted more, and has been already impacted more by this tariff conversation, this tax conversation, that the president-elect is having,” Newsom said. “This is serious business, and so this is a serious moment in California’s history.”

Trump imposed tariffs on Mexican food imports during his first term in office, which raised prices on produce like avocados and tomatoes. Farmers also felt the impact from retaliatory tariffs as foreign demand for grapes, nuts, and dairy products dropped off, which Newsom said could happen again if Trump reinstates tariffs.

In addition to rising food costs, the construction and agricultural industries, which rely heavily on Mexican and Central American workers, would also suffer under Trump’s threats to carry out mass deportations, Newsom said. Consumers, particularly lower-wage earners, would also feel the pinch further when it came to gas prices, as Mexico is a major source of petroleum oil for the U.S.

“You’re worried about the price of oil,” Newsom said. “This is one of the biggest tax increases in history that this guy, Donald Trump, just proposed.”

Newsom’s remarks were some of the harshest he’s made of Trump since the former president won election last month. The governor called a special legislative session, which began this week, to “defend California values” and asked lawmakers to create a $25 million fund for the Justice Department to prepare for litigation against the federal government.

At the same time, Newsom doubled down on his previous statement that he would approach the Trump administration with an “open hand, not closed fist,” by asking for federal resources to continue building the Otay Mesa East port-of-entry between the U.S. and Mexico, which has been in the works since the 1990s.

In addition, Newsom said his administration had applied with the U.S. State Department to finalize an agreement between Mexican law enforcement and the California National Guard, and send more CalGuard members to work with federal officials to crack down on the international fentanyl trade and track the flow of guns and cash from California into Mexico.

Trump blasted Newsom’s “insane policy decisions” in a social media tirade last month, and has repeatedly said Democratic politicians have “ruined” California.

Newsom said the state had picked a contractor to build roads leading up to the Otay Mesa East port, which he estimated would open in December 2027. He did not name the contractor.

“You’re going to start, finally, seeing things take shape and things happening,” Newsom said. “So this is a good news project, a long time, as I say, decades in the making, and I think (it) paints a different picture than a lot of the pictures that are painted as it relates to border conversations in this country.”

Speaking from the planned Otay Mesa East port-of-entry, Newsom said the new construction effort would speed commercial traffic between California and Mexico, the state’s largest trade partner, and “enhance public safety” by adding CalGuard criminal analysts to track the flow of cash and guns between the U.S. and Mexico. The port has been in the works since 2019.

Newsom’s border-crossing announcement came days after president-elect Donald Trump said he would install tariffs on foreign goods, an economic strategy that devastated California farmers during his first term. The governor asked lawmakers to “Trump-proof” the state by calling a special session and asking them to approve a $25 million fund for potential litigation with the White House.