California has surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, Gov. Gavin Newsom stated, as he warned of the risk posed by President Donald Trump’s tariffs to the tech powerhouse’s fast-growing wealth.
The Golden State’s nominal gross home product (GDP) reached $4.1 trillion in 2024, in accordance to preliminary data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, edging previous Japan’s $4.02 trillion nominal GDP in the similar interval as recorded by the International Monetary Fund.
That means solely the United States, China and Germany have bigger economies than California, which outpaced all three international locations with development of 6% final yr, in accordance to the launch.
“California isn’t just keeping pace with the world — we’re setting the pace,” Newsom stated in a news release Wednesday. “Our economy is thriving because we invest in people, prioritize sustainability and believe in the power of innovation.”
But Newsom additionally warned that the state’s financial prowess is being threatened by “the reckless tariff policies of the current federal administration.”
“California’s economy powers the nation, and it must be protected,” he stated.
California, America’s most populous state with some 40 million individuals, accounted for 14% of the nation’s GDP in 2024, in accordance to authorities knowledge, pushed by Silicon Valley and its actual property and finance sectors.
Last week, Newsom sued Trump over his use of emergency powers to unilaterally enact sweeping world tariffs, which the governor stated had damage Californian households and companies.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court docket on April 16, argues that Trump lacks the authority to enact tariffs in opposition to Mexico, China and Canada, or a ten% baseline tariff on imports from the remainder of the world.
These tariffs, Newsom stated in a news release asserting the go well with, are creating “immediate and irreparable harm to California, the largest economy, manufacturing, and agriculture state in the nation,” as they “have disrupted supply chains, inflated costs” and “inflicted billions in damages” on the state.
The lawsuit argues that Trump’s invocation of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to enact tariffs was “unlawful and unprecedented,” and that such expansive motion requires approval from Congress.
Through the IEEPA, Congress in 1977 granted the president broad authority to impose sanctions on international locations, export controls, regulate monetary transactions and freeze overseas belongings below nationwide emergency declaration, however it requires the Executive to seek the advice of and report to Congress when exercising these powers.
California engaged in almost $675 billion of two-way commerce in 2024, and counts Mexico, Canada and China as its high three commerce companions, in accordance to the state. Over 40% of Californian imports got here from these international locations, accounting for $203 billion of its greater than $491 billion in whole imports final yr.
Twelve extra states sued the Trump administration Wednesday for “illegally imposing” tax hikes on Americans by means of tariffs in a lawsuit the White House known as a “witch hunt.”