The Peru Gazette

August 26, 2026 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. Assemblyman Michael S. Cashman, chair of the New York State Assembly’s Task Force on New York-Canada Relations, is calling on Congress to intervene and protect New York’s longstanding economic relationship with Canada, warning that escalating tariffs and continued uncertainty are having measurable consequences for New York businesses, workers, families, and communities.

“I have heard directly from residents across the 115th District and throughout New York who are deeply concerned about the economic uncertainty created by the escalation of these nonessential tariffs,” said Assemblyman Cashman.

“These trade decisions directly impact real people our small business owners, manufacturers, farmers, tourism operators and families that are struggling with everyday costs at their kitchen tables.”

Canada is not simply one of New York’s trading partners. It is deeply woven into the state’s economy, particularly in the North Country.

In 2024, New York exported $20.3 billion in goods to Canada 21.6% of the state’s total goods exports. In 2025, that trade declined by $382 million, a measurable loss of economic activity for New York businesses, workers, and communities, according to the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Administration.

“These are not numbers on a spreadsheet,” Cashman said. “A $382 million decline represents lost economic activity and fewer opportunities for manufacturers, farmers, businesses, and workers. In the North Country, we know firsthand how closely our economy is connected to Canada. But as I’ve traveled, listened to communities, and spoken with colleagues it is clear this is not just a North Country issue it is a New York issue.”

The relationship extends well beyond the movement of goods across the border. Canadian visitors are an important part of New York’s economy, particularly for border communities whose restaurants, hotels, retailers, attractions, and other businesses depend on cross-border traffic.

Cashman said the economic consequences are being compounded by growing strain in the broader U.S.-Canada relationship.

“The United States and Canada share the longest international border in the world, generations of family and community ties, and an economic relationship worth hundreds of billions of dollars,” Cashman said. “In 2025 alone, U.S.-Canada goods and services trade totaled an estimated $872.3 billion, including approximately $715.5 billion in goods trade.”

“Canada is our neighbor, our ally and one of our most important economic partners. When we make it harder for businesses on either side of the border to trade, we are not simply changing a line on a tariff schedule: we are putting strain on a relationship that has benefited both countries and our communities for generations.”

“The North Country has understood that our relationship with Canada is not theoretical,” Cashman said. “Our communities are connected. Our businesses are connected. Our supply chains are connected. Our families are connected. We should be strengthening those connections, not putting up new barriers that make it harder for people on either side of the border to succeed.”

Cashman said his experience leading the Assembly’s New York-Canada Relations Task Force has reinforced the importance of maintaining a constructive relationship with Canada.

“I have the privilege of chairing a task force focused specifically on this relationship, and I can tell you there is a real concern about the direction we are heading,” Cashman said. “We should be looking for ways to strengthen this partnership, deepen economic cooperation and keep our border communities moving forward not create more uncertainty and division.”

“Talking with district residents and assembly colleagues this is a statewide concern. This is bigger than tariffs. It is about the health of a relationship between two nations that have been friends, neighbors, and allies for generations.”

Cashman is calling on Congress to work toward a stable, predictable trading relationship with Canada, protect the economic interests of New York communities and ensure that trade policy does not unnecessarily damage one of America’s most important international partnerships.

“We can protect American workers and businesses without unnecessarily damaging our relationship with Canada,” Cashman said. “Congress needs to step up, restore certainty and make sure the North Country, New York and, more broadly, the United States are not paying the price for trade policies that fail to recognize how deeply our economies and our communities are connected culturally and socially.”

SOURCES: New York State Office of the State Comptroller; U.S. Office of the United States Trade Representative; International Trade Administration.