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/Qubeye Oregon 1d ago edited 1d ago

They can do it constitutionally by negotiating with a country so that country makes holes in their tariffs for goods made in California so they aren't included, and in exchange California spends some of their state budget to purchase goods made in that country, sponsoring visas, etc.

Perfectly legal. California gets more business revenue, keeps a good reputation, and will have a functional economy while everyone else crashes and burns under Trump.

Edit: Yikes, folks are severely misunderstanding both the Logan Act and the Treaty Clause.

California is allowed to award State contracts however they like so long as it doesn't violate state or federal laws. They want to build a school? They can hire a business from Namibia if they want, so long as the company and contract complies with state and federal law.

Namibia can, in turn, reduce tariffs against America on products which typically come from California.

There is nothing illegal about either of those things and the federal government cannot do anything about it.

What is MORE likely is President Shit-Btitches will fume (see what I did there???) about it and engage in retaliatory bullshit, wasting taxpayer money and attacking his own citizens because he's a whiny little bitch.

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u/Wild_Harvest 1d ago

So wait, if I'm understanding correctly, then California is not negotiating to bypass Trump's tariffs but is willing to subsidize the tariffs and keep costs down, and in exchange the country will put in exemptions to products shipped to them from California but not, say, Nevada?

That could be a good way to both bypass the tariff, and prop up California's economy as the dominant force in the US. I could see New York doing something similar, too.

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u/Qubeye Oregon 1d ago

I'm not saying that is what they are planning to do.

My comment was meant to be more of a "I casually came up with a way to do it without violating the constitution."

I'm sure if I put more than thirty seconds of thought into it I could come up with even more robust, legitimate ways to do it.

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u/quartzguy American Expat 1d ago

"I casually came up with a way to do it without violating the constitution."

I wish Donald could do that kind of thing.