***TODAY: Senate to vote on a resolution to reverse Trump’s tariffs on Canada—Trump’s trade war with Canada, which has resulted in severe, 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on nearly all goods, is already seriously hurting WA businesses and agriculture industry***
Washington state is one of the most trade-dependent states in the U.S., with 40 percent of WA jobs tied to international commerce
Senator Murray: “Trump’s refusal to accept basic economic realities or listen to the desperate pleas of American businesses, farmers, and families who can’t afford his costly tariffs is risking serious economic catastrophe and pushing our country toward a Republican recession.”
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on President Trump’s reckless and sweeping new tariffs, which are expected to go into effect later today and will raise costs, and severely harm Washington state businesses, agriculture, and our overall economy. A recent analysis found that Trump’s tariffs could raise costs on the average American household by $5,200 a year—and these price hikes on working families are coming at the very same time that Republicans are forcing through Congress massive new tax cuts for billionaires.
The Senate will also vote today on a resolution from Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) that would reverse Trump’s tariffs on Canada by nullifying the emergency declaration issued by President Trump that underpins them. The resolution requires a simple majority to pass in the Senate and would also need to be brought up and passed in the Republican-controlled House in order to go into effect.
“Trump’s ham-fisted, utterly pointless tariffs are a tax that families in Washington state will pay on nearly everything they buy—whether at the grocery store, the car dealership, or your neighborhood coffee shop.
“We have all the data in the world that tells us exactly how these tariffs will hurt American businesses and push up prices—that’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. Trump and his cabinet are choosing to ignore the mountains of evidence we have that tariffs do not work and push ahead because they simply don’t care. They don’t care if small businesses have to close their doors, if farmers lose access to markets, or if prices go up—because it won’t affect Trump and his cabinet full of billionaires.
“Trump’s trade war is an especially deep cut to farmers, fishers, and producers in Washington state—I’ve talked to so many who are absolutely furious that Trump is putting their livelihoods at risk because he cannot seem to grasp the basic fact that they actually rely on international markets to sell their goods. Trump doesn’t have a clue—and businesses in Washington state are already paying the price for his ignorance.
“Today I will vote for Senator Kaine’s resolution to reverse Trump’s disastrous tariffs on Washington state’s largest trading partner, Canada—Trump’s trade war has already forced businesses in Washington state who rely on imported materials and business from Canada to lay off employees and close their doors, and is upending supply chains across the Pacific Northwest.
“Trump’s refusal to accept basic economic realities or listen to the desperate pleas of American businesses, farmers, and families who can’t afford his costly tariffs is risking serious economic catastrophe and pushing our country toward a Republican recession.”
Washington state has one of the most trade-dependent economies of any state in the country, with 40 percent of jobs tied to international commerce and approximately $60 billion in annual exports. Washington is the top U.S. producer of apples, blueberries, hops, pears, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries—all of which risk losing vital export markets due to retaliatory tariffs from key trading partners including Canada. Additionally, more than 12,000 small and medium-sized companies in Washington state export goods and will struggle to absorb the impact of retaliatory tariffs. Trump’s tariffs during his first term were extremely costly for Washington state—as one example, India imposed a 20 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. apples, causing Washington apple shipments to India to fall by 99 percent and growers to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in exports.
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