Today, 18 state legislators from Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont released a letter demanding that Donald Trump end his escalating trade war with Canada and abandon the chaotic tariff agenda that keeps driving up costs for working families.
The letter details how Trump’s erratic trade policy, which has changed more than 50 times since he took office, has now torched America’s relationship with Canada, our second-largest export market. After a nearly finished deal collapsed, Trump imposed new tariffs on Canadian goods under a law no president had ever invoked, then threatened more tariffs on cars, trucks, and auto parts two days later. Canada answered with counter-tariffs on hundreds of American products.
The legislators also call out 18 months of tariff failures that have fueled inflation and deepened the affordability crisis. The Supreme Court ruled Trump’s tariffs illegal, yet American consumers still haven’t been refunded a dime. Americans absorb 96 percent of the cost of these tariffs, and households were projected to pay an average of over $2,500 more by the end of 2026, even before this latest escalation.
In the letter, the legislators make clear exactly who is responsible:
“America wasn’t attacked or provoked. You picked this fight, you escalated it, and working families will pay the price.”
With prices on furniture, clothing, building materials, and cars set to climb, Trump has offered no plan to bring costs down and remains consumed with revenge and retribution. The legislators’ message is simple: end these trade wars now.
A full copy of the letter can be found here. The names of those signing can be found below.
Sen. Joe Baldacci, Maine
Rep. Gary Friedmann, Maine
Rep. Marc Malon, Maine
Rep. Gerry Runte, Maine
Rep. Holly Sargent, Maine
Rep. Rita Harris, Florida
Rep. Ann Gay Donworth, Kentucky
Del. Ashanti Martinez, Maryland
Rep. Noah Arbit, Michigan
Rep. John Cloutier, New Hampshire
Asm. Steven Raga, New York
Sen. Ryan Braunberger, North Dakota
Sen. Tim Mathern, North Dakota
Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, Ohio
Rep. Tina Davis, Pennsylvania
Rep. Arvind Venkat, Pennsylvania
Rep. Abigail Salisbury, Pennsylvania
Sen. Andrew Perchlik, Vermont
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