5 ways tariffs on Canada could affect New England energy prices
Brace yourself. If President Trump’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada take hold next month, experts said the cost of energy and, well, pretty much everything else, would almost certainly go up.
The economic effects would be felt all over the country, but they could be most acute for New England, which relies heavily on Canadian energy exports.
“New England, specifically, will be very, very hard hit by these tariffs,” said Dan Sosland, the president the nonprofit Acadia Center.
Trump has threatened a 10% levy on Canadian energy products and 25% for other goods. According to the New England-Canada Business Council, New England imports about $10.2 billion of heating oil, diesel fuel, natural gas and electricity from Canada annually. Given the region’s dependency on our neighbors to the north, Sosland likened the tariffs to building a big, disruptive wall in the middle of somebody’s house.
“It’s unclear what the purpose of that would be,” he said.
“Once energy prices go up, everything is affected by it,” said Sosland of the Acadia Center. “Egg prices go up, housing prices go up, the cost of programs go up. And that starts to have a trickle [down] effect, reducing employment and productivity.”
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