CT Gov Lamont says Tariff Day is Tax Day; GOP Pushes Back

Yahoo

02-04-2025

Declaring that Tariff Day is Tax Day, Gov. Ned Lamont visited a Hartford grocery store Wednesday to lament that consumers will be paying higher food prices as tariffs take effect.
President Donald Trump has been pushing repeatedly for tariffs in an on-again, off-again policy that reaches everything from food to cars to jet engines that are made by East Hartford-based Pratt & Whitney.
'Tariff is a six-letter word for tax,' Lamont told reporters at a small market on Broad Street. 'It's a tax on you. … The president likes to call it Liberation Day. It's really Tax Day. It is Tariff Day. The only thing being liberated is your wallet is going to be liberated of $100 to $200 a month once these taxes – these tariffs – kick in.'
Surrounded by other top state officials, Lamont toured the small grocery store and said that avocadoes from Mexico will become more expensive for those who enjoy guacamole during the upcoming Final Four as the UConn women's basketball team is playing this weekend in Florida.
'Move fast because it could get more expensive very soon,' Lamont said. 'Look, I'm a basketball fan. I'm looking forward to the game on Friday night. I like a little guac with my chips. But you better get the guac today because it's going to get a lot more expensive in a few days. By the way, that goes for the Tequila and lime as well. That all comes from Mexico.'
Beyond food, the tariffs have wider economic impacts, Lamont said.
'The price of power drills and tools is going to go up,' Lamont said. 'Much of that comes from overseas. The price of jet engines will go up by about $200,000 per engine. You know why? Because so much of those parts come from overseas – in this case, mainly Canada.'
Americans, Lamont said, should have learned economic lessons from history.
'We've seen this movie before. It was called Smoot-Hawley,' Lamont said. 'That was an across-the-board, 20% tariff that was going to save the economy. Over 60% of trade stopped dead in its tracks. This is back in 1930. At the same time, retaliatory tariffs kicked in place, making life a lot more expensive and making the Great Depression of the 1930s worse and tougher than it had to be.'
Even while Lamont was still in the grocery store, Senate Republicans sent out a statement that Connecticut residents and businesses already pay too many taxes that must be reined in by Lamont and the Democrats who control the legislature.
'We have the third-highest property taxes in the U.S., the second-highest electricity rates in the U.S., and our regulatory burdens are not business-friendly,' said Senate Republican leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield. 'Now, Gov. Lamont is pretending to feel the CT business community's pain? Focus on managing our state, governor.'
Harding added, 'Weigh in on the anti-business bills that your fellow Democrats are pushing. Weigh in on the mileage tax and the tax on Amazon deliveries that Democrats want. Do something about sky high electricity bills and the waste, fraud and abuse in your administration.'
House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford also pushed back.
'Connecticut Democrats decrying an affordability crisis isn't just absurd—it's insulting,' Candelora said. 'After Biden's economic failures led to Donald Trump's presidency, the state's majority party still refuses to acknowledge its role in driving up costs here. They've raised taxes and fees, imposed a truck tax that's impacting grocery prices, and have again advanced an aggressively anti-business labor agenda.'
He added, 'Instead of embracing real solutions – like supporting President Trump's push to expand natural gas and lower energy rates – they're doubling down this session on bigger government, more handouts, and reckless spending. At some point, state Democrats must take responsibility and work with the federal government to deliver results – rather than staging press conferences to rile up their base while solving nothing.'
Christopher Keating can be reached at [e-mail]