Schumer, Standing At The Port Of Oswego With Families And Businesses Being Crushed By Trump’s Reckless Tariff War, Launches New Legislation To End Costly Tariffs And Lower Prices In Communities Across Central & Northern NY

Submitted by the Office of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer.

After Nearly Two Years Of Plummeting Tourism, Skyrocketing Costs, And Small Businesses Paying The Price For Harmful Trade Policies, Schumer Says Central & Northern NY Are On Frontlines Of Trade War And Tariffs Must End Now

Schumer’s New Bill – The End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act – Would Terminate Trump’s Latest Round Of Global And 50% Canadian Tariffs To Deliver Lower Costs For Families, Seniors, & Small Businesses

Schumer To Trump: Dump These Damaging Tariffs To Lower Costs & Forget Renaming Our Beloved Lake Ontario

With Trump’s tariffs driving nearly two straight years of declining tourism and skyrocketing costs, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer today stood at the Port of Oswego Authority with a bipartisan coalition of Central and Northern New York business owners, public officials, and concerned community members being crushed by Trump’s tariff war to launch his new legislation – the End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act – to revoke and refund Trump’s most recent tariffs, including 50% tariffs on Canadian goods. Schumer said that as Trump makes threats to annex Canada and rename Upstate New York’s beloved Lake Ontario, costs for families and local businesses are skyrocketing. The Senator said his bill is key to reversing the damage done by Trump’s tariffs, stopping this nonsensical trade war, and lowering costs for Upstate New York’s families and small businesses.

“Costs are skyrocketing, small businesses are being squeezed, and family farms are getting hammered because of Trump’s tariff taxes and costly trade war. But, instead of making life more affordable for hardworking families, Trump is focused on directing more taxpayer dollars to his billionaire friends while doubling down on his misguided effort to rename our beloved Lake Ontario and threat to make Canada the 51st state,” said Senator Schumer. “In Central New York, legacy businesses and employers from the Port of Oswego to Eagle Metalcraft have already lost millions of dollars in revenue, and small businesses from Sterling Family Farm to 114 Reserve are struggling through tens of thousands of dollars in unforeseen expenses that are slowing growth and squeezing margins. That’s why I’m here announcing my bill to immediately end this tariff war and bring down the skyrocketing costs. We can’t let this nonsensical trade war with Canada, our closest trading partner and ally, continue. It’s a gut punch to Central New York businesses, to New York’s economy, and to American families that are being hit hard by Trump’s tariff temper tantrums.”

In July, Trump levied 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods, including products that had previously been protected by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that Trump opted not to renew. Schumer said this follows a series of unnecessary provocations directed toward our closest trading partner, ally, and neighbor to the north, Canada. Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ and has repeatedly threatened to make Canada its 51st state. As a result of Trump’s escalating tariff war, Canadians are canceling trips to the United States, and tourism has declined across all the major bridge ports of entry between New York and Canada compared to 2024.

Schumer declared it is time to put an end to Trump’s trade war with Canada that is hurting communities across America and raising costs for working families. Schumer said Americans are paying the price for Trump’s policies and being crushed by rising costs caused by Trump’s tariff taxes and costly trade war. Data released earlier this month found that families have had to spend an additional $6,000 on everyday essentials under Trump due to rising prices for housing, groceries, gas, electricity, healthcare, and more.

Schumer’s End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act would revoke and refund President Trump’s latest barrage of tariffs and repeal the archaic authorities he has used to continue his trade war. This legislation would apply to President Trump’s recent Section 301 tariffs on 60 countries, previously imposed Section 122 temporary global tariffs, and the 50% Canadian tariffs.

Businesses across Central and Northern New York are feeling renewed pain as a result of the Trump Administration’s latest barrage of tariffs, including:

• The Port of Oswego Authority, located on the shores of Lake Ontario directly across from Canada, has been hit especially hard, losing upwards of $1 million in potential revenue as a result of the administration’s tariffs and trade war. The port is worried that if the tariffs and trade war continue, it will make it increasingly difficult to invest in the infrastructure needed to be prepared for an influx of demand on Central NY’s horizon with Micron and other new manufacturing investments underway across the region.
• Eagle Metalcraft, a multi-generational metal fabricator located in Syracuse, has lost millions of dollars as a result of tariffs. Though the administration claims its tariffs will bring new businesses into the United States, Eagle Metalcraft reports that the opposite is happening to its business. Eagle Metalcraft said that it lost 50% of revenue from one of its primary customers, who moved manufacturing and much of its purchasing to Asia to avoid the impact of tariffs, and was forced to go through two rounds of layoffs and part ways with six employees.
• Sterling House Farm, a small, multi-generational family farm with land in Cayuga and St. Lawrence Counties, has felt the pain of rising costs and uncertainty caused by tariffs on lumber, equipment, and fertilizer both personally and across their community. In order to complete a new greenhouse in Sterling, the farm had to move its business from local lumber yards like Ace Hardware in Oswego to specialty mills to avoid surging prices caused by tariffs, turning what was expected to be a one-season build into a multi-year endeavor that ran thousands of dollars over budget.
• 114 Reserve, a small café and community hub located in Fulton, is paying $1 more per pound for coffee beans and nearly 50% more for heavy whipping cream and oat milk, as well as significant markups on syrup, cocoa, electricity, and paper products driven by tariffs and the trade war with Canada. With customers already facing increased costs on everything from their gasoline to their grocery store bill, 114 Reserve has been unable to raise prices, which has led to shrinking margins, thousands of dollars in lost profit, and prevented the hiring of new staff.

“On behalf of the Port of Oswego and community we serve, I would like to thank Senator Schumer for his leadership in fighting back against the negative effects that this administration’s tariffs on Canada are having on the port, our customers, local workers, and the Central New York economy,” said Port of Oswego Executive Director Tom Drumm. “The harmful and unnecessary trade war caused by these tariffs directly hampers the port’s ability to carry out its core business, translating into more than $1 million of lost potential revenue, increased volatility in demand and order flow, and fewer hours for our best in class maritime workforce. It has also frustrated the port’s plans for the growth and modernization needed to support Central NY’s ongoing manufacturing renaissance. I am proud to stand with Senator Schumer and the bipartisan coalition he assembled on our docks to push for passage of federal legislation that will end the trade war with Canada, stabilize costs, and protect working families.”

“Owning a small business in Central NY is no small thing to us here in Fulton. At 114 Reserve, we are proud to have created a space for people to gather, a chance to experience locally roasted coffee, and a healthy source of jobs in our community. However, our café has been heavily impacted by the significant new taxes and tariffs across our industry, which have caused extreme price increases on dairy, cocoa, coffee beans, electricity, and paper products while we are being squeezed by increased shipping and gasoline costs at the very same time,” said 114 Reserve Owner and Operator Mikaela Tubolino. “These increases are not only felt by our suppliers, roasters, and bakers, but by our customers who are already struggling with affordability in their everyday lives. We have done our best to hold off on raising prices with the hope that relief would come soon, but as time has passed the losses have added up to thousands of dollars, eating into our bottom line and preventing us from hiring new staff. I appreciate Senator Schumer for standing up for small businesses like 114 Reserve and pushing to end the tariffs to bring down the cost of goods we depend on.”

According to the Senator, even municipalities like the City of Oswego are feeling the negative impacts of tariffs and the trade war with Canada. After generations of Canadian families traveled to the City of Oswego to vacation, attend events, enjoy the waterfront, and support local businesses, the city says that it has seen a substantial decline in Canadian visitors over the last year. The city reports that local businesses from the Oswego Speedway to local shops, restaurants, hotels, museums, charter fishing operations, and more are feeling the negative effects of fewer visitors, creating an added challenge for business owners and their employees. The city says that impact is also felt directly, as the drop in economic activity has decreased the city’s sales tax revenue, which is a critical source of funding used for essential services and to keep pressure off local property taxpayers.

Schumer continues to be one of the leading advocates in Congress to end this unnecessary, damaging trade war with Canada that is decimating Upstate NY’s economy, tourism, small businesses, and local jobs. Last year, Schumer twice used a special fast-track process to force a vote in the Senate to end Trump’s destructive trade war with Canada.

More specifically, Schumer has a long history of fighting back against the Trump Administration’s misguided and poorly implemented tariff policies in Central and Northern NY. Last year, Schumer stood at 1812 on the River in Sackett’s Harbor and the Emerald Cocktail Kitchen in Syracuse to push for an end to the administration’s sweeping International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs – which were ultimately found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court – alongside small businesses from across the region, including:

• 1812 Brewing Company in Watertown had its award-winning, American-made craft beer ripped off Ontario shelves in response to tariffs on Canada, slashing 10-15% of the company’s total business overnight, decreasing the company’s 2025 sales by at least $100,000 in 2025, and undoing years of hard work and investment to break into the Canadian market.
• Talking Cursive Brewing Company, a small craft brewery located in Syracuse, has faced significant challenges from higher prices on the aluminum cans they import from Canada to more expensive hops and grain imported from the EU, Australia, and New Zealand. After the administration’s initial round of tariffs in early 2025, Talking Cursive experienced a sharp decline in customers, sales, and the biggest first-quarter downturn in its seven years of operation.
• Apothecary Chocolates in Colton was forced to close its doors and lay off three full-time employees after tariffs surged the price of a bag of its specialty chocolate by more than 180% – from $125 in 2024 to over $350 as of August 2025.
• Monthly Boxer in Watertown has faced a significant downtick in customer volume, order flow, and total revenue, which the company attributes directly to tariff rates and their volatility. The company says customers are downsizing, delaying, and even cancelling orders because of tariff-driven uncertainty in pricing and demand.
• Lake & River Roasters in Cape Vincent has watched adversarial rhetoric and trade policies aimed at Canada and other key trading partners drive away friends, family and repeat customers from across the border, as tariffs have doubled the average price of their imported coffee beans – from around $3 per pound to $6 or more – in less than one year. This has forced the company to either charge more for impacted products at the risk of pricing out customers or absorb the added costs at the risk of operating on unsustainable margins.

With every economic data point flashing red because of Trump’s chaotic trade war, Schumer called on New York’s House Republicans to stand up for Upstate NY businesses and working families footing the bill for Trump’s tariff tax. Under Schumer’s leadership, Senate Democrats are also pushing for tariff exemptions for small businesses and putting an end to Trump’s across-the-board tariffs, and Schumer has co-led amicus briefs in the lawsuit challenging Trump’s authority to levy tariffs. Schumer said ending this costly trade war is key to protecting American families from price increases and job losses.