SCOOP: Newsom asks world leaders to exempt California exports from retaliatory tariffs

Sources in Newsom's administration told Fox News Digital on Thursday night the announcement was a direct response to President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff plan, which sets out a baseline duty of 10% on all imports to the U.S. and some higher percentages for other top traders. 

Newsom added he's directed his administration to seek out new opportunities to "expand trade" and "remind trading partners around the world that California remains a stable partner."

"Gavin Newsom should focus on out-of-control homelessness, crime, regulations, and unaffordability in California instead of trying his hand at international dealmaking," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Fox News Digital on Friday morning.

A Newsom official said the new Trump tariffs also will affect access to critical supplies, like construction materials, needed to rebuild after the Los Angeles wildfires. The U.S. currently imposes a duty of over 14% on Canadian lumber, with the rate potentially rising to nearly 27% in 2025. 

State officials charged the retaliatory tariffs will cause "major disruptions" to cross-border supply chains in the California-Baja region, arguing that if component goods are taxed each time they cross the border, the final price of the finished product will increase and be passed onto Californians.

"This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It's our declaration of economic independence. For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense," Trump said. "But now it's our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt, and it'll all happen very quickly."