All things considered, Liberation Day could have gone a lot worse for Vermont.
On April 2, when President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from virtually all other nations, Canada — by far the state’s largest trade partner — was given something of a pass.
Goods that fall under the 2020 USMCA trade pact, which represent the lion’s share of Vermont’s imports from its northern neighbor, were exempt from the reciprocal tariffs that Trump imposed on most goods that day, tariffs he then paused for 90 days, leaving a blanket 10% levy on imports from all but a few countries.
But Vermont-Canada relations have still been strained by the on-again off-again trade war. Canadian steel and aluminum — crucial materials for everything from cans to car parts — are still subject to a new 25% tariff, and, given his mercurial approach to foreign policy, the president could announce new levies on Canadian goods at any time.
Fed up with the tariffs and Trump’s inflammatory “51st state” rhetoric, Canadians have also begun to boycott Vermont goods and cancel trips to the state in droves.
In response, Vermont lawmakers are preparing to send Trump a letter formally urging him to cut Canada some slack.
State senators are currently considering, S.R.11, a resolution calling for “warm and cooperative relations” between the U.S. and its northern neighbor. The resolution, which would also be sent to Gov. Phil Scott, Vermont’s congressional delegation and Canadian officials, additionally urges Trump to remove all tariffs against Canada and refrain from imposing any new levies on Canadian goods in the future.
“The resolution is to voice our major concern on the economic, and personal and cultural impact of these tariffs on our economy, on our families and on our culture,” Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, told fellow members of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Friday.
Sponsored by all but three members of the state Senate — Sens. Russ Ingalls R-Essex, David Weeks, R-Rutland, and Terry Williams, R-Rutland — the resolution has overwhelming support in the chamber. If it passes, though, it’s likely destined for some Trump administration waste basket and wouldn’t do much to influence the wheelers and dealers in the White House.
Vermont senators have also introduced a similar resolution, S.R.12., reaffirming the state’s “friendship” with Taiwan, which serves as a crucial partner in the state’s semiconductor industry.
-Habib Sabet
In the know
A bill that would fundamentally overhaul Vermont’s response to homelessness is making its way through the Statehouse. H.91 provides a potential off-ramp to the state’s mass use of motel rooms as a primary form of shelter – and could spell an end to the political battles over the voucher program that have become a yearly ritual.
“We’ve become stuck in a cycle of using band-aids with no real path out of this crisis,” said Rep. Jubilee McGill, D-Bridport, to her colleagues on the House floor in early April, before the bill was approved. It now sits with the state Senate.
H.91 would dissolve the motel voucher program as it currently exists next summer. In its stead would be a new initiative: the Vermont Homeless Emergency Assistance and Responsive Transition to Housing program. Funding and decision-making power over the state’s homelessness response would shift to five regional anti-poverty nonprofits.
Members of Scott’s administration – frequently at odds with Democratic lawmakers over the future of the motel voucher program – have expressed some concern about the bill’s cost, but have signaled their approval of the overall direction H.91 takes.
“There’s a lot of merit, we think, to the idea of bringing this sort of service and decision-making closer to the local communities that are most impacted,” Department for Children and Families Commissioner Chris Winters told lawmakers Thursday.
Read more about the new proposal for a regional response to homelessness here.
— Carly Berlin
Commissioner Michael Harrington is stepping down after five years leading the Vermont Department of Labor, the governor announced Friday.
As the head of the Department of Labor, Harrington saw the state through the Covid-19 pandemic and multiple rounds of catastrophic flooding — all periods of intense turbulence for Vermont’s labor force. During the pandemic, Harrington came under fire from state lawmakers over the agency’s rollout of pandemic-era unemployment benefits.
Harrington will remain in his post until July. Read more on his departure here.
— Habib Sabet
On the move
A proposed change to Burlington’s local laws that would ban guns from bars and other venues that serve alcohol is making headway in Montpelier, where the change needs a signoff from state lawmakers. But a key Senate committee has reduced the scope of the proposal over concerns that, in its original form, it could run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
It’s the second time in a decade that Burlington voters have asked legislators to approve the local gun control measure. This year’s effort was prompted by a fatal shooting last summer outside a bar and nightclub on Church Street, the city’s major shopping thoroughfare, that police said was preceded by a fight inside the venue.
The Senate Government Operations Committee on Friday approved the change to the city’s charter, which is bill S.131, after four committee hearings in recent weeks. The panel voted 3-2 in favor of advancing the proposal, with its two Republican members voting no and its two Democrats and one Progressive/Democrat voting in favor.
Burlington’s proposal is the only gun control measure that has made progress in the Statehouse so far this session. The measure’s lead supporter, Burlington resident and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, has called it a “common sense” change to keep bar patrons and staff safe from violence.
Read more about the charter change proposal here.
— Shaun Robinson
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Correction section
Yesterday’s newsletter used the wrong name for the House Committee on Environment. That name was so last year.
