AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening the weight of the Texas economy after Canadian officials announced their plans to push back against new U.S. tariffs set to take effect on Tuesday.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed an order to impose tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. The order placed duties of 25% on imports from both Mexico and Canada, but energy imported from Canada–such as oil, natural gas and electricity–would only be taxed at 10%.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately responded with a matching 25% tariff on up to 155 billion Canadian dollars in U.S. imports. When the U.S. tariffs take effect, Canadian duties on 30 billion Canadian dollars of American alcohol and fruit will immediately take effect, and the rest of the tariffs would come in 21 days.
“Like the American tariffs, our response will also be far-reaching and include everyday items such as American beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices, including orange juice, along with vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes,” Trudeau said in a Saturday night address. “It’ll include major consumer products like household appliances, furniture and sports equipment, and materials like lumber and plastics, along with much, much more.”
The Texas governor took to X Saturday night to criticize Trudeau’s announcement. Abbott specifically responded to a post from a conservative pundit that claimed Trudeau was targeting Republican states with the country’s tariffs, despite the prime minister not saying he was targeting specific U.S. states.
“Careful Trudeau. The Texas economy is larger than Canada’s. And we’re not afraid to use it,” Abbott wrote. Texas has the second-largest GDP in the U.S., behind California, and the eighth-largest economy, ahead of Canada.
Abbott went on to specifically mention cotton, an important agricultural export of Texas, and questioned whether Canadians could afford T-shirts if the state were to economically punish the country.
“T-shirts are made of cotton. That cotton comes from Texas–the #1 producer in America,” Abbott said. “There is tremendous demand for our cotton all over the world. I wonder if Canadians will be able to afford the cotton on their backs.”
Although Trudeau didn’t mention targeting states that have historically voted for Republicans, one Canadian official did.
David Eby, the premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia, asked residents to stop buying liquor from “red” states in response to the tariffs. He also said that the province was removing American alcohol brands from government store shelves.
Eby characterized Trump’s decision to tariff its northern neighbor as “a declaration of economic war against a trusted ally and friend” in a televised message.
“Effective today, I have directed B.C. liquor sales to immediately stop buying American liquor from red states,” he said in the message. “Liquor store employees will be removing the most popular of these brands from government store shelves.”
While Texas was not specifically mentioned in Eby’s message, the state has historically voted for Republicans for president and statewide offices for the past couple of decades.
Two other Canadian provinces, Ontario and Nova Scotia, also announced that they would pull American liquor from their government-owned stores, according to reporting from the New York Times. Over 38% of Canada’s population lives in Ontario, which includes the nation’s capital and Toronto, and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario imports about $690 million worth of U.S. products every year.
