Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today delivered the following remarks, as prepared, during a debate on the House floor in support of his Resolution terminating Trump’s national emergency used to impose tariffs on Canada:
“This debate is a year overdue.
“In the last year, tariffs cost American families nearly 1,700 dollars, and that cost is expected to increase in 2026. Since these tariffs were imposed, U.S. exports to Canada have fallen by more than 21 percent.
“When I go home, my constituents aren’t telling me they have an extra $1,700 to spare. They’re asking me to lower grocery prices, lower the price of healthcare, and make life more affordable.
“Today’s vote is simple: will you vote to lower the cost of living for American families, or will you keep prices high out of loyalty to Donald Trump?
“And let’s be clear about the so-called “emergency” Donald Trump declared on Canada and so many other countries, where no emergency exists.
“For over 50 years, emergency authorities have been declared for civil wars, pandemics, or massive human rights crises. Canada is none of those things
“Canada isn’t a threat, it’s our ally. Canadians have fought alongside Americans, whether in World War II or the war in Afghanistan, where 165 Canadians gave their lives after OUR country was attacked.
“There is no national emergency. No national security threat underpinning these tariffs. In an interview, just last night, Donald Trump admitted he placed tariffs on Switzerland simply because he didn’t like the way its leader spoke to him. That’s not strategy. That’s impulse.
“And who is paying the price for Trump’s impulse? American families.
“Your morning coffee. Your kid’s chocolate. Life-saving medical devices. Those are the Canadian goods being hit with 35% tariffs. Americans are paying more for health care and their daily essentials during an affordability crisis, all because of a manufactured emergency and one man’s ego.
“And the damage doesn’t stop there. American products? They are being boycotted across Canada. Don’t believe me: just look at the President’s social media post from two days ago where he said, quote, “Ontario won’t even put U.S. spirits, beverages, and other alcoholic products on their shelves.”
“Tourism from Canada is down 30%. People in the hospitality industry in Las Vegas, New York, and Florida are losing their jobs because Canadians don’t want to come here.
“And what are the American people getting in return?
“Higher electricity costs during one of the coldest winters in modern history.
“Higher food prices.
“Higher costs for industrial goods and health care.
“This is heads we lose, tails we lose.
“These tariffs are bad for American workers, bad for businesses, and bad for working families. Instead of addressing the affordability crisis, which the President has called a hoax, Republicans have spent a year blocking this vote to protect Trump rather than doing the job the American people sent us here to do: lower costs.
“That ends today.
“Every member now has to go on the record. Do you stand with a disastrous trade war, or with your constituents who are demanding relief.
“It’s time we end the so-called national emergency, because the only emergency here is the economic one created by Trump’s tariffs. I urge the adoption of the resolution and the termination of these unnecessary and harmful tariffs.
“I reserve the balance of my time.”
