Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks out against Trump’s tariffs

FILE - Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, Jan. 25, 2023, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File) (Al Goldis/AP)

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer believes that the incoming tariffs will damage Michigan’s economy, and put more than a million Michigan jobs at risk.

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, Whitmer said, “Michiganders are already struggling with high costs—the last thing they need is for those costs to increase even more. A 25 percent tariff will hurt American auto workers and consumers, raise prices on cars, groceries, and energy for working families and put countless jobs at risk. Trump’s middle-class tax hike will cripple our economy and hit working-class, blue-collar families especially hard."

Whitmer joins a group of vocal critics on both sides of the border sounding the alarm over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s incoming tariffs on the North American economy.

Border cities from across Canada have expressed their concerns about the devastating impact the incoming tariff could have.

“We understand what the impacts are going to be. We know we’re going to be hit first; we know we’re going to be hit hardest,” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told CTV News.

Whitmer said that the incoming tariff will hurt working families the most, “Because companies pass tariff costs on to the consumers, Trump’s middle-class tax hike will mean Michigan families pay more to heat their homes as they face below freezing temperatures, fill their gas tanks, and get affordable housing at a time when inflation is already high. It will harm our auto industry, driving up the cost of cars and slowing production lines.”

Trump is putting a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy starting Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will hit back with counter-tariffs on $30-billion worth of goods starting the same day.

- with files from the Canadian Press, CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellaccico