Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti in collaboration with twelve other state treasurers today released a letter sent to President Trump warning of the consequences of the newest round of imposed tariffs.
In a press call with fellow Treasurers and Auditors from Minnesota, New Mexico, and Connecticut, Pellicciotti highlighted the impact to the Washington state workforce and the trade partners subject to the new tariffs.
“The unilateral decision being made by the President today to start a trade war with other nations and put a trade tax on the working families of the United States is a decision he’s making that serves only political interests – not economic interests,” said Pellicciotti. “…those who are going to be hit the hardest for this are the working families who are going to be paying more in costs at the grocery store, they are going to be the ones who are going to be losing their jobs as a result of this situation.”
As one of the most trade dependent states in the country, Washington stands to be significantly impacted by the new round of tariff taxes, especially those imposed on Canada, who is one of the state’s top trading partners.
“We’re the ones who are going to be left cleaning up the economic and financial mess created by the President’s trade war that he is starting today,” continued Pellicciotti. “This will not only increase the cost at the grocery store, it will not only put jobs at risk, it will increase the cost of housing…It’s setting things up and making it harder and harder so that those with the least amount of resources will be bearing the weight of the President’s decision today.”
State Treasurers will continue to monitor the impacts to state finances and working to mitigate the consequences of this escalating trade war.