Tariffs on lumber, steel, and other Canadian products are contributing to higher housing and energy costs in the United States and should be repealed, Gov. Maura Healey said during remarks to a business group Wednesday.
The governor made her remarks at a New England-Canada Business Council Executive Energy Conference at the Seaport Hotel in Boston.
“This week, President Trump finally admitted what we all know – that his tariffs are raising costs," Healey said. “It’s why he lifted his tariffs on beef and coffee, and more, to reduce the price of groceries. Now, he needs to focus on energy and housing.”
Saying “the American people can’t afford to wait,” Healey knocked Trump’s tariffs on lumber, steel, aluminum, copper, transformers, grid components, and solar and wind power components.
High housing costs and modest housing production continue to serve as a drag on the Massachusetts economy, and clean energy proponents have seen progress stall out in many areas due to new federal policies.
Trump has engineered a wave of global tariffs as part of his effort to address trade imbalances and boost U.S. manufacturing. Congressman Richard Neal and others say the president’s tariffs have been illegally imposed, with the Springfield Democrat asserting that the president sparked a “chaotic trade war.”
The White House said Nov. 14 that some tariffs are coming down on coffee, beef, and other products that “are not grown or produced in sufficient quantities in the United States.”
Trump says he has strengthened the nation’s international economic position through reciprocal trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, investment deals with Japan and Korea, and Joint Statements on Frameworks for such reciprocal trade agreements with El Salvador, Argentina, Ecuador, and Guatemala; Thailand and Vietnam; the United Kingdom and European Union, and Switzerland.
Canada is Massachusetts’ top trading partner, according to Healey, exchanging more than $16 billion in goods and services every year in two-way trade.
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