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/UglyMcFugly 1d ago

You gotta read between the lines here. Shit like this is the first step... 

"To our international partners: As the fifth largest economy in the world, the Golden State will remain a steady, reliable partner for generations to come, no matter the turbulence coming out of Washington. California is not Washington, D.C."

He's making a statement to the world that California is a separate entity, talking about it's separate economy, and starting a direct dialog with foreign countries. This IS a big deal and I'm all for it.

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u/SharkSymphony 1d ago edited 1d ago

I don't think it's that big a deal:

  • California's had international name-brand recognition for decades. Nothing new there.
  • California's been trumpeting that "fifth largest economy" line for – well, as long as we've been that! – though I'd guess we started the bragging when we cracked the top ten. 😛 Nothing new there.
  • California's been wooing international investment and trade for decades. Nothing new there.

So, what's new? I'm not aware that California has ever asked other countries for favorable tax treatment on its exports before – that seems unusual. But in the context of all of the above, I don't think it's out of line.

The one thing I take issue with Newsom on in this statement is his assertion that we can be a reliable trading partner when the US is not. That's just not true, even if it is a nice aspiration. For one thing, the US dictates our import duties, not California. For another, the same instabilities that roil the US as a whole do exist here in California too.

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u/Outrageous-Orange007 23h ago

Could just kick out customs

They're under the order of a man who isnt even the president.

Democracy is non negotiable and it gave Trump authority. Our right to vote gave him that

When he knowingly usurped powers of Congress(the supreme court stopped him from doing the exact same thing in 2019), to violate the constitution and harm American citizens, undermining our democracy, he was immediately stripped of his position and all authority.

Not by my opinion, but by the very logic of democracy itself. If he knowingly acts to undermine it(especially to harm American citizens)then he is undermining his own position which democracy granted him.

Democracy, the power of the people, the supreme power of the United States of America, is a law above all laws and a law before all US laws, it is not just the very foundation of our entire country, it is our soul as a nation.

And it is non negotiable.

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u/SharkSymphony 22h ago

We are finding it is quite negotiable.

But wait, who was stripped of their position and all constitutional authority?

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u/Outrageous-Orange007 22h ago

Any servant of the people who dares to knowingly undermine it to harm American citizens.

There is one thing like I said thats above the constitution, democracy.

Democracy created it(at least everything after the initial draft, but even it which it can change) and facilitates it and in a way interprets it.

Democracy is what people got their brains splattered onto the fields over. An unspoken, unwritten, but solidified in stone, rule of this nation.

At any point the American people are justified to do whatever they mist to resist acts of usurpation. Oir founding fathers were pretty straight forward on that.

What I'm saying isn't a vote of the people, its the very logic of democracy itself. If that servant isnt stripped of power immediately then democracy doesn't exist.

People don't understand what this nation even is fundamentally.

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u/SharkSymphony 22h ago

You're talking in a bunch of generalities, but let's get down to specifics.

You said someone who usurped powers of Congress was stripped of their power and all constitutional authority. Of whom do you refer?

Because if you're talking about Trump, he was very much not stripped of power. He stepped down quietly after his pseudo-putsch went nowhere, in accordance with his term limit. And we let him do it. And then he was elected less than four years later and relieved of any consequences for his behavior. So that he had a green light to, you know, continue his quest to undermine democracy.