By Ted Hesson
(Reuters) -California Governor Gavin Newsom stressed the importance of trade with Mexico and immigrant labor at a press conference near the border on Thursday, striking a contrast with President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs and mass deportations.
Newsom, a Democrat, portrayed the Republican president-elect’s planned 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as a tax on Americans who could see increased prices if the plan moves forward when Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Trump won a second term last month promising protectionist U.S. trade policies and a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration while also taking aim at transgender rights and diversity initiatives. Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have emerged as prominent Democratic opponents of Trump’s agenda, pledging to defend the state’s liberal policies.
Newsom called the Trump tariff plans "one of the biggest tax increases in U.S. history."
“Don’t think for a second this won’t impact you,” he said.
Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump's policies would benefit American workers and rejected Newsom's suggestion that prices would rise.
“President Trump has promised tariff policies that protect the American manufacturers and working men and women from the unfair practices of foreign companies and foreign markets," Leavitt said in a statement.
Newsom said California was committed to advancing plans to open a new legal border crossing near San Diego, a delayed project known as Otay Mesa East. He said the state would work with outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration but that Trump’s support would be needed to complete it by late 2027.
Newsom said the state's National Guard troops deployed to the border would search for illicit money and weapons heading to Mexico in addition to ongoing efforts to stop fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.
Agricultural groups have said Trump's plans for record deportations could decimate the nation's food supply if it extends to farm workers, a concern Newsom echoed.
"The impacts of mass deportation on the cost of food in this state, in this nation, are off the charts," he said.