Greg Abbott doesn’t mention Trump’s tariffs in speech, mocks Canada in tweet

Despite the harsh economic blow Texas consumers and businesses likely face from steep tariffs President Trump unveiled Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott made no mention of them in his State of the State speech the following day.

Indeed, the only comment Texas’ Republican governor made of the tariffs via his social media accounts was to fire off a tweet mocking Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for retaliating against them.

“Careful Trudeau,” said Abbott, a Trump ally who’s frequently parroted the president’s anti-immigrant, anti-transgender and anti-DEI rhetoric. “The Texas economy is larger than Canada’s. And we’re not afraid to use it.”

On Saturday, Trump made good on a campaign promise to slap 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico — Texas’ largest trading partners. He also imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.

The tariffs, which become effective Tuesday, set off an immediate trade war. In response to Trump’s action, Trudeau said Canada will place a 25% tax on about $106 billion worth of American goods, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also said her country would retaliate. In an emailed statement, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, said Texas exported nearly $130 million in goods to Mexico, making it especially susceptible to economic damage from Trump’s action. “A trade war with Mexico will hit Texas farmers, ranchers, producers, manufacturers and other business owners especially hard, hiking their costs and weakening demand for the goods they produce,” Crockett said. “In short, Texans are about to be hit left and right — we’ll pay more for nearly everything we buy, and have a harder time selling the things we produce.”

She added: “As any Freshman economics major could tell Donald, tariffs are imposed on the IMPORTING NATION — NOT the exporting nation.”

Sixteen Nobel Prize-winning economists signed a letter last year warning Trump’s trade plans would “reignite’’ inflation and have devastating economic effects. 

“It’s insane. These tariffs are just absolutely the stupidest idea,” Trinity University economist David Macpherson told the Current last fall. “China ain’t paying for those tariffs. We are. It’s like a sales tax. Imagine if you put a 10% to 20% sales tax on anything you buy manufactured abroad.”

While making no statement in Sunday’s speech about the Trump tariffs, Abbott did gush in broad terms about the strength of Texas’ economy and its job creation numbers. He also touted the state’s newly created stock exchange.

“Clearly, God has blessed Texas, and the state of our state has never been better,” he said.

Plenty of economists, apparently, would beg to differ. Consumers and businesses in the state may soon follow suit. 

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This article appears in Jan 22 – Feb 4, 2025.