State leaders said they’re concerned over President Donald Trump’s impending tariffs on Canada, warning that they would pose a risk for state construction projects and higher energy prices for New Hampshire residents.

The 25% tariffs are on pause for 30 days after Canada struck a deal with Trump, so state officials are still in the lurch about how this might impact their work.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte said Wednesday the stay is “very welcome” and hopes it’ll end with a resolution, not tariffs. Canada is a valuable trade partner, she said, and business and industry leaders throughout the state are concerned with how they might be affected.

“I did not want anything to go forward that would impact our competitiveness here in New Hampshire,” Ayotte said. “Canada is a very strong trading partner with New Hampshire and one of our top trading partners, but I also appreciate the concerns that President Trump has expressed in getting the fentanyl off our street and making sure that our northern border is secure.”

David Rodrigue, the assistant transportation commissioner, told executive councilors on Wednesday that the state shares some risks with the contractors that bid on government construction projects, including price adjustments.

That means if the tariffs make materials more expensive for contractors, the state is on the hook, too. Rodrigue said there are adjustments baked into contracts for some things like fuel, asphalt and steel.

“If during the duration of the contract, those commodity prices raise beyond a certain threshold, we will compensate the contractors for those,” Rodrigue said.

Don Kreis, who represents residential utility ratepayers as the state’s independent consumer advocate, said he worries the tariffs will affect people’s electric rates. The proposed tariffs would be lower for Canadian energy imports, at 10% instead of 25%.

“We are very concerned about the potential for tariffs on Canadian electricity imports in particular,” Kreis said at the Executive Council meeting. “That will have an upward effect on all of our electric bills.”

He told the Monitor it’s difficult to pin down exactly how much of New Hampshire’s power comes from Canada but said it accounts for about 10% across New England.

Kreis said he expects Canada will do anything it can to avoid the tariffs and offset a trade war.

“It would be too destabilizing,” he said.

 

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.