Schumer warns of economic chaos in NY state ahead of ‘Liberation Day’
Schumer said that Trump's planned "Liberation Day" tariffs will result in economic hardship across New York. Families in Upstate New York can expect to see a $6,500+ yearly increase in their expenses for gas, groceries and cars, among other conveniences. Young-Bin Lee | Daily Orange File Photo
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned President Donald Trump’s promised “Liberation Day” tariffs Tuesday and called for the White House to stop the trade war with historic American allies. The president has promised the tariffs, which are set to roll out on Wednesday, will “free” the United States from relying on foreign goods, the Associated Press reported.
Schumer said in a release that Trump’s tariffs will increase costs for New York families, alleging a $6,500 increase when paying for regular commodities such as gasoline, groceries and cars annually. These proposed reciprocal tariffs would match the rates charged by other countries, including the European Union, South Korea, Brazil and India.
“If this tariff war continues, it could devastate upstate New York’s economy in ways we haven’t seen since the height of the pandemic,” Schumer said in the release. “Trump’s tariff war has already created chaos, and the economic uncertainty is causing the stock market to fall, hurting seniors’ retirements (and) cratering consumer confidence.”
He also claimed the tariffs could put over 150,000 jobs in upstate New York at risk.
The senator described Trump’s tariffs as a “gut punch” to upstate New York’s economy and said he’s received calls from worried farmers, workers and factory owners about increasing costs and decreasing wages. New York families and businesses are expected to pay approximately $6.6 billion indirectly as a result of the tariffs, with an additional $568 million lost on imported steel and aluminum alone.
Schumer detailed that Trump’s trade war with Canada specifically will particularly impact the upstate region, highlighting the state’s dependence on their Northern neighbor economically. Canada is the state’s top trade partner and last year imported roughly $20 billion in goods and exported over $17 billion, the Times Union reported.
Over 680,000 jobs in the state depend on trade with Canada, The New York Times reported. Roughly 160,000 of these jobs are in upstate, with approximately 16,000 in the central New York region, the release states.
Above all, Schumer said the tariffs on Canada would harm New York farmers, as Canadian businesses account for 54% of the state’s farm exports. As the world’s top grain, livestock and meat producer, Canada has significant influence in the price of groceries for American families, which could increase by up to 3%, or $185 every year under the tariffs.
Electricity costs throughout the state are also expected to increase, as New York imports hundreds of millions of dollars in Canadian electricity from the country’s hydroelectric dams every year, Schumer said. State agencies, including the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, claim electricity costs could increase by over $40 million every year.
Gasoline prices are also predicted to increase by $26 million and diesel prices by $48 million annually.
The tariffs could also impact affordable housing, as $6 billion in lumber and wood products used in the U.S.’s homebuilding industry came from Canada in 2024, per the release.
While explaining the various implications of Trump’s tariffs, Schumer also noted that the president’s barriers on foreign trade disproportionately impact American allies — not adversaries.
“I am all for addressing trade imbalances,” Schumer said. “In fact, Trump should be spending far more time going after China’s long-standing trade cheating that has robbed upstate New York of jobs for far too long, rather than picking a trade war with Canada that will only cost more New York jobs and drive up prices for everyone.”
The Trump administration has delayed the tariffs twice since taking office, but regularly pledged to limit American trade with other countries throughout his presidential campaign. White House officials confirmed Tuesday that the president plans to go through with the trade war.
Trump is expected to formally introduce the tariffs in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon, USA Today reported.
