WATCH: After Trump’s Latest Tariffs Flip-Flop, State Treasurers Demand Permanent End to Trump Trade War With Canada and Mexico

State financial officers warn that Trump’s new taxes on working families will raise costs on everything from groceries to gas

Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs: “We all know who’s going to pay the price for the Trump tax. It’s American families from their pocketbooks and American workers losing their jobs.”

State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner: “Tariff price hikes are likely to increase the cost of items that consumers and businesses depend on, such as electronics, clothing, appliances, and other products we all use every day.”

Earlier today, after President Trump announced that he would temporarily pause tariffs on Mexican imports (again), State Auditor Julie Blaha (Minn.), State Treasurers Zach Conine (Nev.), Michael W. Frerichs (Ill.), Elizabeth Steiner (D-Ore.) and David L. Young (Colo.), in partnership with Americans for Responsible Growth, demanded an immediate end to Trump’s escalating trade war with Canada and Mexico.

The financial officers outlined the devastating impacts on consumers already being caused by Trump’s new tax on working families, emphasizing that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods are threatening Americans’ livelihoods, wiping out jobs, hurting countless industries, and causing chaos as our closest trading partners go forward with their own retaliatory measures on hundreds of billions worth of U.S. products. They also implored the Trump administration to focus on policies that will actually lower costs for working families, instead of raising prices with a new tax on groceries, gas, and other critical goods.

Just one day into Trump’s disastrous trade war, which he admitted will create a “disturbance,” the State Treasurers spoke about the increasing harms these new taxes will inflict upon their states, the country, and the world if the Trump administration does not permanently end the threat of tariffs, including additional “reciprocal” tariffs set to go into effect on April 2. These include, but are not limited to, price increases at major retail stores, rising gasoline prices, and skyrocketing car price increases upwards of $12,000. The International Chamber of Commerce even warned that Trump’s trade war could sink the world into a new Great Depression.

Here’s what they had to say about how Trump’s policies will disproportionately harm those who can least afford it, drive up prices on everyday goods, and risk their states’ economic security:

State Auditor Julie Blaha (Minn.):

• "The Trump Trade War is like a kid who stole a pickup and is doing donuts on your lawn. Even if he gets it turned in the right direction in the end, he’s still wrecked your yard. Trump is spinning chaos all over the economy, and there will be long-term damage no matter where he ends up.”
  
  

• “In times of turmoil, we need calm and predictability—more like a steady small-town mayor, less like a reckless kid on a joyride. [Local governments] want people to just be able to live their lives and not think about whether the water will come out when they turn the tap on, or the lights will turn on when they turn on the switch. So I urge Trump to be a lot more like a small town mayor and less like a kid on a joy ride.”

State Treasurer Zach Conine (Nev.):

• “It seems that President Trump and Co-President Musk are really just more interested in throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Unfortunately, between the people throwing it and the wall are the American citizens who are going to have to pay for all of this chaos.”

• “This administration is gaslighting the American people and trying to distract them from the fact that eggs are more expensive than ever, that it's getting harder and harder to find a job, and that when we look at some of the big challenges that we need to solve as a country—things like affordable housing—tariffs are just going to make each component of that fix more expensive.”

State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs (Ill.):

• “This is bad policy, it’s bad for our economy, and it's terrible planning. Now, I'm a big believer in focusing on pragmatic kitchen table issues, no matter who is president, and tariffs are a kitchen table issue. What it really is is a Trump tax. We all know who’s going to pay the price for the Trump tax. It’s American families from their pocketbooks and American workers losing their jobs. We're going to see higher prices in a wide range of products: vegetables, meat, cell phones, cars, those for starters, gasoline as well. All of it is a Trump tax on American workers.”

State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner (D-Ore.):

• “Businesses and individuals depend on government to act rationally and reasonably. This administration is doing the opposite. Economists have projected that these full blown tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China are likely to cost each American household $1,200 a year. I'm a family physician—and I know that financial security is the key to good health. Yet for too many Oregonians, as we say, there is too much month left at the end of the money.”

• “Tariff price hikes are likely to increase the cost of items that consumers and businesses depend on, such as electronics, clothing, appliances, and other products we all use every day. And in Oregon, these new proposed tariffs are particularly worrisome because they threaten to further raise the cost of housing construction, making our housing shortage worse, threatening jobs in the construction industry and making it harder for most families to afford housing, an issue that I know is true for almost every state in the union.”

State Treasurer David L. Young (Colo.):

• “President Trump’s tariffs could not come at a worse time for Coloradans, who are already struggling to make ends meet. Over 115,000 jobs in our state are linked to trade with Canada and Mexico, putting families directly in harm’s way. A trade war will result in punishing prices, brutal layoffs, and decreased activity—undermining Colorado’s vibrant economy. I urge my fellow state treasurers and members of Congress to join us in condemning these actions before they cause real harm to everyday people.”

To book an interview with Americans for Responsible Growth Executive Director Dave Wallack or connect with the press teams for a state treasurer or auditor who joined today’s press call, please email Ryan Thomas at press@focalpointstrategygroup.com.