Tariffs impose effective tax, jeopardize N.Y. jobs

Tariffs are imposing effectively a 21% tax on imported goods, costing New York households an estimated $4,200 annually and could jeopardize 500,000 jobs tied to trade and manufacturing in the state, according to findings in a preliminary report released Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.

Among the findings in the report were:

• Farms statewide face higher expenses for fertilizer and equipment
• Material costs for construction have climbed by 15–25%, adding around $11,000 to each new single-family home
• Reduced Canadian travel led to nearly 400,000 fewer visitors to New York in May of 2025 as compared to May 2024
• Tariffs on imported equipment and pharmaceuticals have raised premiums for state employee health plans by $14.5 million
• Input costs for manufacturing have risen 20%, cutting profit margins and delaying investments for hundreds of New York manufacturers reliant on cross-border supply chains

The report is a result of an order issued by Hochul to state agencies to investigate and report the economic and social impacts of federal tariffs.

“New Yorkers are seeing firsthand what these tariffs really are — a tax on hardworking families and employers,” Hochul said in a statement.

She also said that tariffs “raise prices on everything from milk and medicine to steel and housing materials, while doing nothing to strengthen our economy. Tariffs are destabilizing markets, straining small businesses, and punishing the very people who keep our state moving.”

Hochul, a Democrat up for reelection next year, has been a regular critic of the tariffs since their implementation earlier this year.

The report comes as the Supreme Court began hearing arguments this week on the legality of the sweeping tariffs that President Donald Trump has imposed on a wide range of goods, the argument being over the president’s use of the 1977 emergency law –– the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, or IEEPA –– to impose the tariffs.