r/politics • u/sweatycat New York • 1d ago

California to Negotiate Trade With Other Countries to Bypass Trump Tariffs

https://www.newsweek.com/california-newsom-trade-trump-tariffs-2055414
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u/xsmasher 1d ago

The exporting country doesn't pay the tariff, the importer does; so this would be helping importers in California, shipping companies in California, and other businesses in California.

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u/Mitchwise 1d ago

I think you’re missing his point though. This plan would just shift the responsibility of paying the tariff from Californian companies and citizens to the California government (which still must be pay the tariff to the national government). Where does the California government get the money to pay for the tariff? Hint: taxes on the citizens…

The citizens of California end up paying for it either way.

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u/Wild_Harvest 1d ago

Yeah, but I believe that California usually has a budget surplus and they can probably afford to put some of that surplus towards subsidizing tariffs to ease the burden on taxpayers.

But agreed it's not a good look either way.

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u/themonkeysbuild 1d ago

That and if you are incentivizing more businesses and people to move to your state through a policy like this you will raise more taxes for the state to pay them as well.