Following rulings by two federal courts blocking key tariff measures enacted by the Trump administration, California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the decisions but warned that the damage to small businesses had already been severe and would only worsen if the tariffs remain in place.
This has already had an impact, and the impact would be even more acute as it relates to shortages and supply constraints that are inevitable if this continues, Newsom said during a podcast interview with Ben Meiselas, co-founder of MeidasTouch Network.
Newsom said he had met with more than a dozen small business owners and found that the tariffs had caused "complete devastation" to their operations. He shared the story of one such entrepreneur, a woman who sells baby products, who said she might lose her home because of the levies.
That's because of Trump's unilateral policies, illegal, the governor added.
Newsom also cited another case involving a family-run business from which he purchased an electric bike as a holiday gift for his son. The owner, having found Newsom's email address on the receipt, reached out directly.
In his message, the business owner explained that although he had a full container of inventory, he could no longer afford the tariffs and was at risk of shutting down.
The governor said that California was the first to sue Trump over the unlawful tariffs, and now the courts are saying exactly what we argued from day one. Families in California and across the country have felt the real cost of Trump's ego-driven trade war: canceled shipments, layoffs, business closures, even parents losing their homes, he said.
Newsom reiterated the impact of the tariffs on one segment of the economy, saying that it's small businesses, in particular, that are being devastated by this uncertainty.
California governor says small businesses devastated by Trump's tariffs
