NEW FROM JEC: Declining Canadian Tourism is Harming American Businesses in States Along the United States-Canada Border
ICYMI THIS WEEK: Senator Murray Grills Trump’s Trade Representative Over Administration’s Reckless Tariffs Driving Up Prices, Devastating Small Businesses
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement in response to a new report from the U.S Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) which found that Trump’s tariffs on Canada and trade war provocations with our neighbor and close ally have led to a steep drop in Canadian tourism that is harming American businesses in Washington state and other states along the United States-Canada border.
The JEC report found that every state along the United States-Canada border is facing declines in tourism and rising economic pressures. Many states along the border, like Washington state, are home to hundreds of businesses that rely on Canadian tourism to survive. Canadian tourism contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 140,000 jobs in 2024. In 2025, between January and October, the number of passenger vehicles crossing the United States-Canada border declined by nearly 20 percent compared to 2024. In Washington state, passenger vehicle border crossings were down more than 24 percent for that time period.
“While Trump hikes up tariffs via tweet and threatens to annex our close allies—businesses and communities in the United States are the ones who suffer. It’s both stupid and wrong. In Washington state, so many small businesses along the border rely on Canadian tourism and trade to survive—but Trump’s attacks on Canada have pushed our neighbors away and forced business and tourism to plummet.
“I’ve heard firsthand this year how many small businesses in our state are being forced to raise prices or close their doors altogether. This isn’t just bad economic policy, it is real American families’ livelihoods being hurt, lost revenue for local businesses, less hotel demand, fewer visitors at events, lost jobs, and fewer dollars being invested into our Northern border communities. Trump doesn’t know the first thing about trade, and businesses and consumers in Washington state are being forced to pay the price. Here’s what people need to understand: we could end this pointless trade war with Canada tomorrow if Republicans would stop blocking a simple vote to reverse Trump’s tariffs and reclaim Congress’ power over trade. Republicans need to stop bending the knee to Trump and start listening to their own constituents who are begging them to put an end to these tariffs.”
In Washington state, the JEC report found:
- Estimates have found Seattle will see an almost 27 percent decrease in international overnight stays in 2025 compared to 2024, almost exclusively driven by the loss of Canadian tourists.
- Spokane saw 33 percent fewer visitors in March 2025 than in March 2024.
- Ridership on the Clipper between Victoria and Seattle is down 30 percent this year, causing Clipper Navigation to have to lay off a quarter of its workforce.
- Over 30 businesses in Bellingham reported losses due to a decline in cross-border travel.
- The Bellingham Chamber of Commerce has found the city has seen a drop in visits, overnight stays, and spending by Canadian travelers—a downturn which has been devastating for many businesses.
Kevin Coleman, Executive Director of SeaFeast in Whatcom County, told JEC that the area has seen a drastic decline in Canadian traffic: “Since March of this year, we have not only seen Canadian traffic drop drastically, but we have also seen a drop in our number of attendees at our festival this year in late September. We knew that after March, we could not rely on our Canadian business because of fear at the border and lack of understanding of what is happening with tariffs and Canada drawing a strong line of promoting Canada first.”
A nonpartisan analysis by the Washington State Office of Financial Management found that if the current Trump tariffs stay in effect for the next four years, they will cost Washington state up to 25,000 jobs—and if Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs are fully implemented, they would cost Washington state $2.2 billion and 31,900 jobs over the next four years and significantly drive up the cost of food, clothing, cars, and much more.
Washington state has one of the most trade-dependent economies of any state in the country, with 40 percent of jobs in the state tied to international commerce. In 2024, Washington exported $57.8 billion of goods to the world, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), making Washington state the 9th-largest state exporter of goods last year. Washington state is also the top U.S. producer of apples, blueberries, hops, pears, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries—all of which risk losing vital export markets due to retaliatory tariffs from key trading partners, including Canada.
Senator Murray has been vocal in responding to Trump’s trade war, holding events in every part of Washington state, and hammering the Trump administration for driving up the cost of just about everything through their chaotic and thoughtless trade policies. When Trump first announced new tariffs, Senator Murray brought together leaders across Washington state to discuss how Trump’s trade war threatens Washington state’s economy, and spoke out on the Senate floor against Trump’s chaotic trade war, calling on Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in reasserting Congress’s power over trade. She has held several events across Washington state to hear directly from constituents and small business owners about how Trump’s tariffs are harming them—including in Tacoma, Yakima, Vancouver, Seattle, Skagit County, and Blaine, just across the border from Canada. On August 1st, as Trump hiked “reciprocal” tariffs on some of our closest trading partners, Senator Murray held another virtual press conference with Washington state businesses to sound the alarm. She held another roundtable with small business owners in Vancouver in September, and slammed Trump for the new port fees that had been hitting ships at West Coast Ports as a result of Trump’s trade war with China. Last month, Senator Murray released a statement criticizing Trump’s tariffs and calling on Republicans to step up to put an end to them after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the legality of Trump’s disastrous tariffs.
Earlier this week at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing, Senator Murray grilled U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on how President Trump’s trade war with Canada is hurting Washington state businesses and consumers—VIDEO HERE.
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