Pritzker: Trump tariffs will hurt Illinois manufacturers, farmers and consumers

Tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump will hit home in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker warned Tuesday.

“Trump’s tax on working families will have a devastating impact on Illinois’ manufacturing and agriculture sectors and will hurt hardworking Illinoisans at the grocery store checkout, on their utility bills, and at the gas pump,” Pritzker said in a statement.

“I have spent the past few weeks talking with farmers, manufacturers, and even breweries who have been preparing to reduce production and raise prices — actions that may have ripple effects for supply chains in Illinois and across the country,” he added.

Trump instituted a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% duty on Canadian energy products. He also raised an earlier 10% tariff on China to 20%.

Canada and Mexico plan retaliatory tariffs and China slapped a 15% tariffs on myriad U.S. farm products.

The White House said the tariffs were necessary “to combat the extraordinary threat to U.S. national security, including our public health posed by unchecked drug trafficking.”

While Canada and Mexico were given plenty of time to “curb the dangerous cartel activity and influx of lethal drugs flowing into our country, they have failed to adequately address the situation,” federal officials said.

Trump also blamed China for the opioid epidemic, saying it posed an extraordinary threat “to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the U.S.”

But “Illinois is the fourth largest exporter in the nation,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Tuesday. “These tariffs will hurt Illinois’ farmers, workers, and manufacturers — not to mention consumers.”

Here’s a look at Illinois’ trading portfolio, according to Pritzker and Durbin:

• Trade exports support 800,000 jobs across the state.

• Canada and Mexico are Illinois’ top trading partners.

• Illinois exported more than $20 billion in products to Canada in 2023. State exports to Mexico that year totaled nearly $13 billion.

• Illinois is the third-largest exporter of agricultural products in the U.S. Top commodities are corn, soybeans and pork.

Other industries that could be impacted range from furniture stores, who partner with Canadian furniture makers, to local brewers, who use Canadian aluminum for cans, Pritzker said in February.

· The Associated Press contributed to this story.