Trump Tariffs Will Disrupt Entire Food Supply Chain, Says Rep. Gwen Moore

Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin said Trumps tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico will disrupt the food supply chain and affect everyone from grocery store workers to consumers. She also said President Trump should reconsider any plans to cut back on FEMA funding given the increasing number of natural disasters like the flooding in Texas.

President Donald Trump threatened a 35% tariff on some Canadian goods and raised the prospect of increasing levies on most other countries, ramping up his trade rhetoric in comments that weighed on stocks and boosted the US dollar.

The tariff level on Canada would take effect from Aug. 1, the president said. The announced rate is an increase from the current 25% tariff that’s imposed on US imports from Canada that aren’t shipped under the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

“Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, which cause unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States,” Trump said in a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, posted on social media Thursday.

Trump’s announcement on Canada came as he told NBC News on Thursday that he’s also eyeing blanket tariffs of 15% to 20% on most trading partners. The current global baseline minimum tariff rate for nearly all US trading partners is 10%.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” NBC quoted Trump as saying. “I think the tariffs have been very well-received. The stock market hit a new high today,” Trump added, according to the report.

Taken together, the moves signal Trump is not abandoning his flagship economic policy. Stocks slid from all-times highs with the S&P 500 down 0.3% as of 10:18 a.m. New York time. The dollar moved higher, heading toward its best week since February.

In response to Trump, Carney said that Canada would continue to defend workers and businesses as it continues negotiating with the US ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. He added in a post on X that Canada has made “vital progress” in combating fentanyl in North America and is committed to working with the US on the issue.

On Friday, Trump told reporters that he was “going to see” about possible exemptions to the Canadian tariffs, and said Ottawa had reached out to the White House after the release of his letter.

“They called — I think it was fairly well received, it’s what we need, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

The 35% Canada levy mentioned by Trump currently doesn’t apply to goods that are traded within the rules of USMCA — and the exclusion is poised to remain in place, according to an official who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

The US is also expected to keep a lower 10% tariff on some energy-related imports, the official said. The move would not affect higher levies on key materials such as steel and aluminum, which are under a different tariff regime. The situation remains fluid and the legal order has not yet been drafted, they cautioned. Trump’s tariff plans are unpredictable and often revised, including immediately prior to a deadline.

As it currently stands, the formula would be a far more modest change to the trading relationship than an across-the-board 35% rate. Most of Canada’s exports to the US fall under the rules of USMCA.

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