During a press briefing on Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta slammed President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.
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00:00The gravity and instability of the situation at hand cannot be overstated.
00:06The risk to California, to our businesses, our workers, our families, cannot be overstated.
00:14As of April 2nd, Trump has imposed tariffs on every single one of the U.S.'s trade partners,
00:22sending shockwaves around the globe.
00:24On average, the tariffs are more than 22 percent, the highest in more than a century.
00:31For some trade partners, the tariffs are much steeper.
00:35Tariffs on our neighbors, Mexico and Canada, are 25 percent for more than half of goods.
00:41Canada has responded with a 25 percent retaliatory tariff, including on fresh produce and wine from California.
00:47The tariffs on China are now at an astronomical 145.
00:54In response, China has retaliated with a 125 percent tariff on U.S. goods, including on California nuts and dairy products.
01:03Just two days after Trump announced his most sweeping tariffs, the U.S. stock market suffered the largest two-day loss in history.
01:11One analysis projects that the tariffs will make the U.S. economy, quote, permanently smaller by $100 billion annually, end quote.
01:23And another found that Trump's tariffs will cost the average American household $2,100 per year.
01:31Nothing resembling Trump's campaign promises to fix the economy and make life more affordable for Californians and for Americans.
01:40Given California's enormous economic footprint, the impact of these tariffs on our state, our businesses, our people is especially harmful.
01:50California is the nation's largest importer and second largest exporter, the largest when it comes to agricultural exports.
01:58In 2022, California's agricultural exports brought in nearly $24 billion.
02:05Mexico, Canada and China happen to be our biggest trade partners.
02:10Over 40 percent of California's imports come from those three countries, and they're our top three export destinations, buying close to $67 billion in California exports, over one-third of all of our exported goods.
02:24Trump's tariffs are already hampering the state's ability, as a major purchaser of goods ourselves, to contract for purchase and sell goods.
02:36Already, vendors have warned us that they're going to pass the cost of Trump's tariffs onto the state of California.
02:44Trump may claim he's a great businessman, but Trump's tariffs are truly terrible for business, and they're breaking the law.