California has become the fourth largest economy in the world – supported only by the US, China and Germany. Announced this weekQuotes new data from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United States Economic Analysis Bureau (BEA).
“California is not just in line with the world. We’re setting the pace,” Newsom said in a statement Wednesday. “Our economy is thriving because we invest in people, prioritize sustainability and believe in the power of innovation.”
Golden State previously ranked fifth, but preliminary Bee data for 2024 shows the state’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) reached $4.1 trillion last year.
BEA data showed that Texas came behind California among the states, with GDP at $2.7 trillion and New York at $2.3 trillion.
But California Democrats warned that President Trump’s drastic tariff hikes could threaten his state’s position as a global economic powerhouse.
“While we celebrate this success, we recognize that our progress is threatened by the current federal government’s reckless tariff policies,” the governor said. “The California economy must empower and protect the nation.”
A White House spokesman told Hill in a statement that California’s advances are at risk of “foreign stolen intellectual property of major tech companies, disaster management that hinders wildfire disasters, deadly drugs and violent criminals ruin the community.”
“Under the Trump administration, California could reach new heights, if state leaders are out of the way,” they added.
Newsom also filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state last week challenging the Trump administration’s tariff policy, claiming that trade moves would disproportionately affect California.
The governor who is unable to seek re-election next year due to term restrictions has become a widespread candidate for the president in 2028.
