Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro warns Trump tariffs ‘roiled our domestic markets,’ may spark trade war

• By Jaxon White/LNP | LancasterOnline

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro laid into President Donald Trump on Tuesday, blaming the slew of tariff announcements for tanking the U.S. stock market and warning that a trade war will inevitably spike consumer prices.

Speaking at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau luncheon in Harrisburg, Shapiro — a Democrat rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential run — called Trump’s tariffs “reckless” and “dangerous,” saying they’re likely to force U.S. allies to implement retaliatory policies that would raise the cost of Pennsylvania-produced goods in their countries.

Trump’s blanket 10% tariffs “on all countries” took effect on Saturday. Targeted, higher-rate tariffs on countries his administration says have comparably larger trade deficits with the U.S. are slated to go into effect on Wednesday.

All tariffs will especially harm Pennsylvania farmers, Shapiro said, because they’ll push foreign buyers like Mexico to search for cheaper products, lowering U.S. businesses’ share of international markets.

“Understand, this is not theoretical,” Shapiro said. “This is not some political statement. This is the reality. We already lived through it.”

Shapiro cited how, in 2018, retaliatory tariffs imposed by China in response to Trump policies ultimately required the federal government to pay some $27 billion to American farmers shut out of the China market. The tariffs that prompted China’s action then, Shapiro noted, were “modest” compared with ones announced since Trump returned to office this year.

LNP | LancasterOnline previously reported that dairy farmers statewide were bracing for the long-foreshadowed tariffs to go into effect.

“For all of the talk about bringing companies and industries back to the United States, our farmers are already here,” Shapiro said. “They’re already doing business in this Commonwealth and in this country. And I believe they are being unnecessarily hurt by these trade wars.”

Pennsylvania exported roughly $2.6 billion in total agricultural products in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, ranking it 23rd among all other states. Its top agriculture exports included dairy products ($436 million), corn ($216 million) and other plant products ($696 million).

Shapiro also said Trump’s tariffs have “roiled our domestic markets” because of the “uncertainty” they cause.

---

READ MORE: More than 1,000 anti-Trump protesters gather in downtown Lancaster, joining nationwide ‘Hands Off!’ rallies Saturday [updated]

---

The U.S. stock market has been highly volatile since Trump announced the tariffs. And some economists have warned the U.S. could be heading toward a recession.

White House senior trade adviser Peter Navarro downplayed those concerns on Monday, giving a personal “guarantee” that Trump’s tariffs would not spark a recession.