CANADA Act would exempt U.S.-owned small businesses from tariffs imposed on Canada
Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, this week pushed for a vote on his bipartisan Creating Access to Necessary American-Canadian Duty Adjustments (CANADA) Act, legislation to exempt United States-owned small businesses from tariffs imposed on Canada. Senate Republicans blocked the unanimous consent request and refused to support small businesses in their states.
Senator Welch took to the Senate Floor to slam the Trump Administration’s plan to increase tariffs and enact new sweeping global tariffs on August 1. Senator Welch also spoke in support of his bipartisan bill, the CANADA Act:
“Every tariff is going to be paid for by every consumer in this country, and it’s going to be an expense for every business in this country,” said Senator Welch. “And as challenging as this is for every business, it’s especially so for small businesses—they do not have the margin to deal with these price swings...And that literally is what is happening. Our small businesses are so profoundly important to us in Vermont, and I know it’s true in West Virginia, I know it’s true in New Hampshire. And we have got to be doing things that help them, and we should not be doing something that really hurts them—and that’s these tariffs.”
Watch Senator Welch’s floor remarks here:
Read key excerpts from Senator Welch’s remarks:
“We have got a serious affordability crisis in this country. People who work hard, who work full time, cannot afford to pay their bills at the end of the month. Our businesses that are operating with enormous efficiency—and are super concerned about the price consciousness of consumers, and are doing everything they can to keep their prices down but have enough of a profit to keep the lights on and keep people employed—they are overwhelmed by what is happening with these tariffs and how it is inflicting uncertainty and causing them to have layoffs.”
“There’s a commonsense element here that just seems to escape the United States Senate at times. We’re actually pretending that this tariff is not a tax—it is a tax. We’re pretending that the constant changing and whimsical nature—the arbitrary nature of which the rate is one thing today and another thing tomorrow—doesn’t have a really disastrous impact on folks who have to make real world decisions about their ability to produce a product; to meet the obligations of a contract they’ve entered into; to maintain the stability of their workforce and their supply chain. It’s all downside with these tariffs. And these are not targeted.”
“This notion that tariff is a revenue source—and pretending that that revenue is not being paid for by our businesses and by our consumers—is wrong. It’s just flat out wrong. And as this policy gets implemented, we’re going to lock in these price increases and further aggravate the affordability challenges that everyday hardworking Americans are feeling more acutely than ever.”
The CANADA Act is led by Senator Welch and cosponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The CANADA Act is supported by Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority.
In 2024 alone, trade with Canada accounted for 35% of Vermont’s exports, 67% of its imports, and 56% of its total trade. One in four businesses in Vermont relies on trade with Canada. Vermont buys more goods from Canada than the next nine largest foreign markets combined. In 2023, Vermont exported $150 million just in food and agricultural products to Canada.
Vermont boasts nearly 82,000 small businesses, which represent 99% of all businesses in the state, and employ over 62% of Vermont’s overall workforce—higher than the national average. Small businesses in Vermont also employ a diverse workforce, with 43.8% of small businesses in the state owned by women and 6% owned by veterans.
Senator Welch has blasted Trump’s tariffs and trade war and shared stories from constituents about how President Trump’s economic policies have impacted their businesses, farms, and communities. Senator Welch is a cosponsor of a bipartisan resolution to repeal the tariffs on Canada, a bipartisan bill to restore congressional tariff authority, a bill to restrict the Executive Branch’s authority to impose tariffs through the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, and a bill to exempt small businesses from the April 2nd global tariff Executive Order. Senator Welch also led a bipartisan resolution to end President Trump’s ruinous global tariffs.
In May, Senator Welch joined a bipartisan delegation and traveled to Ottawa to meet with Canadian dignitaries, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, to discuss bipartisan support for a U.S.-Canada partnership and their commitment to a strong trading relationship between the United States and Canada. The Senator has hosted roundtables in Stowe, Newport, St. Albans, Manchester, and virtually to hear concerns and first-hand stories from Vermont and Canadian leaders impacted by the trade war.
7.31.2025. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch
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