OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A new report is giving us a clearer picture of how tariffs could impact the state’s economy.
Gov. Bob Ferguson held a press conference on Thursday morning at a community market in Seattle’s SODO district to announce the findings by the Office of Finance and Management.
He says tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are projected to increase the price of groceries by up to 16% over the next two years.
“The illegal tariffs imposed by President Trump will affect all Washingtonians through higher prices, business disruptions and much more,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson says the study also found that tariffs expected to cause a 25% surge in the cost of used cars and a 14% rise in natural gas prices.
He criticized President Trump over what he calls mixed messaging in rationalizing his tariffs.
“No matter how much the president wants us to believe that foreign countries bear the cost of these tariffs, that’s simply not true,” Ferguson said. “The budget lab at Yale looked at the Trump tariffs just recently, back in June. They found that up to 80% of tariff costs are passed on to consumers.”
If fully implemented, Ferguson says Trump’s tariffs could cut up to 32,000 jobs from the state by 2029.
He says trade dependent jobs like agriculture, food processing and aerospace would be hit the hardest.
