Shapiro on Canada tariffs: Trump chooses 'chaos and cruelty'

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) on Sunday slammed the new tariffs on Canada from the Trump administration, claiming that President Trump “is destroying the relationship with one of our country’s strongest allies.”

“Since Day One, Donald Trump has chosen chaos and cruelty — and by doubling down on his reckless trade war with Canada, he’s further harming our families, farmers, and small business owners,” Shapiro said in a post on the social platform X on Sunday.

“He’s not only hurting Pennsylvanians — who are already struggling to afford basic necessities like groceries and gas because of his war of choice in Iran — he’s destroying the relationship with one of our country’s strongest allies,” he added.

On Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would implement retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. starting Sept. 8, responding to the Trump administration’s new 50 percent tariffs.

During a press conference, Carney said Ottawa will “match Washington’s new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses.”

The new tariffs from the Trump administration impose a 50 percent levy on more than $20 billion in Canadian goods, including wine, hockey sticks and cement.

“Canada is Pennsylvania’s largest trading partner. And when I visited with Prime Minister Carney earlier this year, I made clear: Pennsylvania is committed to strengthening our economic partnership with Canada,” Shapiro said in his Sunday post.

“The President should follow our lead and work to make life more affordable — instead of slapping the added costs of tariffs on Americans,” he added.

On Sunday, Trump claimed Canada desired “the benefits of being a state, without being one” in a Truth Social post, referencing his previous talk of making the U.S.’s northern neighbor the 51st state.

When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said that “American workers, businesses, and farmers in Pennsylvania and everywhere else in the country have, for decades, been undermined by unfair Canadian trade practices.”