WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) yesterday took to the Senate floor to speak on how President Trump’s chaotic economic policies and tariffs on Canada, Vermont’s largest trading partner, will raise costs for small businesses, farmers, and families in the Green Mountain State. In his remarks, Senator Welch highlighted how Trump’s Trade War will lead toprice hikes on gas, electricity, and groceries—all costs the President promised to lower for everyday Americans.
“Everybody knows, except apparently President Trump, that the people who pay the tariffs are the people who buy the products,” said Senator Welch. “This is really, really stupid. This is going to hurt Vermont.”
Watch Senator Welch’s speech below:
Senator Welch speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate, next to a display with a social media post from Trump in 2022, where the President said “The Stock Market(s) are literally crashing. There was no reason for this, all self inflicted!”
Read key excerpts from the Senator’s remarks:
“It’s like the President wakes up and throws something at a dart board, and that’s the new policy for the day…Why in the world is the President doing it? He seems to think chaos is a good policy. You know, what we saw, and we’re seeing, and it’s getting worse, and it’s not going to stop—the stock market had its worst week in six months. What has Donald Trump said? ‘The stock markets are literally crashing. There was no reason for this. All self-inflicted.’ He said that in 2022—He’s right today. It is all self-inflicted.”
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“Canada is Vermont’s largest trading partner…last year, trade with Canada accounted for 35% of Vermont exports and 67% of our imports and 56% of our total trade. One in four businesses in Vermont relies on trade with Canada, and Vermont’s economy is almost entirely made up of small businesses. They operate on the tightest of margins. 99% of Vermont’s businesses, 76,878, are considered small. They support 60% of Vermont employees—that’s 156,000. And these businesses cannot, they cannot afford to absorb a 25% hike on imports from our largest trading partner.”
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“These tariffs will also smash our farmers. Vermont farmers rely on organic grains and seeds and fertilizer that’s imported from Canada…What’s the point of our own government doing something that so hurts our farmers, for no benefit for the United States?…Every farmer I know, they’d rather be selling what they grow rather than getting a government Trump subsidy.”
“The tariffs are also going to hurt consumers. There’s no question about that. Grocery prices will be up. The price of eggs is up [42%] from the end of the year and could climb to 41% this year. Meanwhile, the President is reposting articles on social media telling people to ‘shut up, shut up’ about the price of eggs. Did he talk about anything else during his campaign? His tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China would directly cost the typical U.S. household over $1,200 in purchasing power. And people in Vermont, they’re struggling at the end of the month to make that checkbook balance—they can’t afford that $1,200 hit.”
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Learn more about Senator Welch’s work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.
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