Pappas Introduces Legislation to Exempt Small Businesses from Trump Tariffs on Canada

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), a small business owner, introduced the Creating Access to Necessary American-Canadian Duty Adjustments (CANADA) Act, legislation that would exempt United States-owned small businesses from tariffs imposed on Canada by President Trump. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), a member of the House Small Business Committee, is an original cosponsor of this legislation. 

This legislation is led in the Senate by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, who introduced the legislation in the Senate alongside Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). 

“This administration’s tariffs are effectively imposing a national sales tax on our small businesses and families. It’s killing jobs, raising prices, hurting our economy, and leaving families worse off,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “This legislation would exempt our Main Street businesses, the backbone of our economy in New Hampshire, from these disastrous tariffs with our closest trading partner in Canada. I call on the President to reverse his harmful tariff policy, and I will continue working on policies to lower prices for families and small businesses, boost American manufacturing, and grow our economy.”

“At a moment when prices are already sky-high, the last thing New Hampshire small businesses, farmers, and foresters need is more uncertainty and higher costs. But because of President Trump’s costly and chaotic trade war with our neighbor to the north, that’s exactly what we’re up against,” said Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander. “I am working with every tool I have to lower costs for New Hampshire, and that’s why I’m working with Congressman Pappas to advance the bipartisan CANADA Act. Hardworking Americans shouldn’t have to pay for President Trump’s costly, chaotic, and lawless trade war with Canada.”

The CANADA Act is supported by Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority.

President Trump has changed or modified his tariff proposals and policies dozens of times in his second term. These tariffs have been difficult to navigate for small businesses across the United States—especially in New Hampshire, where Canada is the state’s largest trading partner. In 2024 alone, trade with Canada accounted for 16% of New Hampshire’s exports, 19% of its imports, and 18% of its total trade. Tariffs lead to supply chain disruptions, increased costs of goods and materials, smaller profits, and higher costs for consumers. 

The latest data available show that New Hampshire goods exports in 2022 supported an estimated 23 thousand jobs, with 22 thousand of those jobs coming from exports of manufactured products. Nationally, jobs supported by goods exports pay up to an estimated 18 percent above the national average. A total of 2,432 companies exported from New Hampshire in 2023. Of those, 2,055, or 85%, were small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Small and medium-sized firms generated 36.2 percent of New Hampshire's total exports of goods in 2023.

"The relationship between Canada and the United States is a critical one for farmers, small business owners, and Main Streets across the US, but especially in the border states. It is essential for this relationship that US trade policy is predictable, purposeful, and designed to benefit both countries. The erratic, fact-devoid tariff emergencies put into effect by President Trump are making it harder for US businesses to start and operate while not even achieving the goals they claim to have in the first place. The House passing the CANADA Act by Rep. Chris Pappas is a step in the right direction, with more to do to restore US global leadership and rebuild trust that's been unfortunately damaged over the past 7 months," said Shawn Phetteplace, National Campaigns Director, Main Street Alliance.

"The constantly shifting tariff policy landscape has left small businesses struggling to plan ahead. Any amount of clarity lawmakers can offer right now, including an exemption for small businesses importing goods from a specific country, would help by giving entrepreneurs some degree of certainty in a chaotic time. If nothing is done soon to help protect small businesses from tariffs, we expect inflation, uncertainty and chaos will crush many small firms, damage America's economy and cause the loss of countless jobs,” said John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO, Small Business Majority. 

Read the full text of the bill here.

Background:

Congressman Pappas has loudly and strongly opposed President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on New Hampshire’s #1 trading partner, Canada, and U.S. allies. In April, Pappas joined colleagues to highlight the negative impact President Trump’s widespread tariffs will have on New Hampshire’s small business community and how they will raise costs for Granite Staters, calling on the administration to reverse course. Pappas has signed two discharge petitions to force a vote on legislation to overturn the Administration’s harmful tariffs on Mexico and Canada, the U.S.’s two biggest trading partners, and introduced the Small Business Liberation Act in the House in June. He is also a cosponsor of the Prevent Tariffs Abuse Act, which would amend the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to explicitly state that the authority granted to the President under the Act does not include the authority to impose duties, tariffs, or quotas on imports to the US.

Congresswoman Goodlander has dedicated her life to fighting for the people of New Hampshire. She helped introduce the Price Gouging Prevention Act, bicameral legislation to fight against corporate abuses of power enabled by the Trump Administration’s chaotic tariff policies. Goodlander also filed a legal brief challenging President Donald Trump’s sweeping and chaotic tariffs that were unlawfully imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.