Sen. Patty Murray is warning about the potential fallout between Washington state and one of its closest trade allies, as a result of the Trump administration’s impending tariffs.
The Trump administration is set to enact new 35% tariffs on Canadian goods on Aug. 1.
“Having Trump throw a tantrum with these tariffs is really throwing a wrench into our businesses that have operated for decades, and throwing communities on both sides of the border into chaos,” Murray said.
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Canada is one of Washington’s strongest trade partners. Each year, our northern neighbor exports about $18 billion in goods to the state.
Washington exports nearly $8 billion in goods like apples, seafood, and airplane parts to Canada.
Murray was joined by British Columbia Premier David Eby during a press conference on Wednesday.
“The trade war that we’re in right now, that neither Washington state nor British Columbia asked for… but is being imposed on us by the president, is a recipe for mutually assured destruction,” Eby said.
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Tariff negotiations between the Trump administration and the Canadian government have left a rift between the historically allied countries since their announcement.
Eby called the situation “miserable on both sides of the border.”
“We’ve worked together for many years, and we hope to work together again,” Eby said. “But this is the nature of a war and a trade war, and that’s what the president has brought to us.”
Many Canadians, Eby suggested, may make the “hard but necessary decision” to boycott U.S. goods and cancel trips to the country as a result of the tariffs.
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