On Tuesday, Michigan Families for Fair Care hosted the “Drive Out Tariffs, Keep Lansing Working” rally outside Jackson Field in downtown Lansing today, bringing together community members from across the district. Attendees shared how rising costs are hitting their paychecks, their businesses, and their families, and called on Congressman Tom Barrett to stop the tariffs and return the $2,500 his constituents have already paid. The event was hosted with Bee Accepting, MI Capitol Visibility Brigade, and District 7 Civil Disobedience.
Michigan’s auto economy runs on a supply chain that crosses the U.S.–Canada border many times before a single vehicle is finished, and every crossing adds costs, costs that land on the workers who build the cars and the families who buy them, at a time when cost of living has skyrocketed by thousands of dollars. A new round of tariffs on Canadian goods, including automobiles, is set to take effect August 19, on top of tariffs already in place on auto parts, steel, and aluminum. For thousands of families across Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, that means paying more at the dealership, at the register, and on the shelf.
“How is it possible, at a time where everyone is scraping the bottom of the barrel, that our government decides to increase costs by placing more tariffs on our ally, Canada. What is the end goal here? Because we are way past the point of putting people at risk of hunger, and being unable to deal with health care issues. People are dying and these tariffs on Canada are putting jobs at risk.” said Diane, an MI-07 constituent and protest attendee. “We are calling on Congressman Barrett to vote against these tariffs, and protect the thousands of people in the auto industry and beyond living in his own backyard.”
Congressman Barrett has backed these tariffs at every turn, including tariffs the Supreme Court has since ruled illegal. In February, Barrett voted against a bipartisan resolution to end the tariffs on Canadian goods, a measure that passed the House 219–211 with six Republicans crossing the aisle. Barrett was not among them, siding instead with keeping the tariffs in place while families in his district absorbed the cost. Michigan Families for Fair Care will keep pressing Congressman Barrett to answer for the rising costs facing the workers and families he represents.
