Kelly Morrison

07/22/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/22/2026 16:02

U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison Grills SBA on How Trump’s New 50% Tariffs on Canada Will Affect Small Businesses

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, after President Trump announced a new 50% tariff on Canadian imports, U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison (MN-03), a member of the House Small Business Committee, confronted Small Business Administration (SBA) Associate Administrator Paul Fitzpatrick on how these new sweeping tariffs will impact American small businesses.
Canada is one of our nation's closest allies and Minnesota's largest trading partner. Minnesota imports more than $14 billion from Canada and exports more than $5 billion in goods to Canadaeach year. Trump's new tariffs not only threaten the imports that many Minnesotan small businesses rely on, but raise the risk of retaliatory tariffs from Canada.
This year, the Small Business Administration proposed eliminating 15 out of 16 federal entrepreneurial development programs, including the program that helps small businesses expand to international markets. This proposal, combined with the President's new tariffs, pose a huge threat to Minnesota small businesses that rely on our trading partner to the north and have already been hit hard by tariffs over the last year.
Representative Morrison asked SBA Associate Administrator Fitzpatrick to explain how small businesses will now be able to navigate trade with Canada given these changes. The Associate Administrator could not provide a clear plan on how to protect small businesses.
Rep. Morrison, a member of the House Small Business Committee, has spent her first term in Congress fiercely advocating for small businesses, including by:
  • Meeting with Minnesotan small businesses to understand how tariffs are affecting them
  • Fighting to immediately exempt small businesses from tariffs
  • Pressing Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler to exempt small businesses from tariffs
  • Demanding the Trump Administration rescind tariffs on Canada
  • Urging Speaker Mike Johnson to call the House to vote to end Trump's tariff war
  • Introducing and passing the Rural Small Business Resilience Act to help rural small businesses recover from natural disasters
  • Strengthening research and development opportunities for small businesses
Watch Rep. Morrison's full exchange with Associate Administrator Fitzpatrick HERE.
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Read a transcript of Rep. Morrison's testimony below:
Rep. Morrison: Thank you, Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velázquez, for holding this hearing. Thank you, Associate Administrator Fitzpatrick, for being here today.
Not to beat a dead horse, but this is an issue that the small business community is really struggling with.
The number one thing that I'm hearing about from small business owners in my district is the difficulty of navigating the uncertainty created by the President's tariffs.
Many small business owners are facing shrinking profit margins, disrupted supply chains, and severe planning uncertainty because of these tariffs, jeopardizing the future of their businesses.
The President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget proposes eliminating 15 of the 16 entrepreneurial development programs, including the STEP program, which we've discussed some this morning, which assists small businesses in entering or expanding into international markets.
One of the consequences of the President's tariffs have been retaliatory tariffs against the United States from other countries, causing even more uncertainty for small businesses interested in participating in foreign trade.
Throughout last year, as the President placed tariffs on Canadian cars, aluminum, steel, and lumber, Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs against the United States, restricting exports to our neighbors to the north for Minnesotan small businesses.
Now we wait to see how Canada will respond following the President's new 50% tariff on Canadian goods.
Given the administration's interest in increasing U.S. exports and supposedly balancing trade deficits, I have to question the decision to eliminate the STEP program at a time when small businesses need more assistance navigating trade uncertainty, not less. So, how is the Office of Entrepreneurial Development helping small businesses in the international marketplace navigate retaliatory tariffs?
Associate Administrator Fitzpatrick: Congresswoman, thank you for the question. As I've said, we support the administration's policies fighting for fair trade, which is fighting for small businesses. We have seen, as we go around the country, businesses that are adding shifts; they're getting contracts now before. I met with a business in Wisconsin that normally -
Rep. Morrison: I'm sorry to interrupt you, but how does your office plan to continue to help small businesses increase their exports? How are you planning to help small businesses increase their exports amidst retaliatory tariffs if the STEP program goes away?
Associate Administrator Fitzpatrick: Congresswoman, thank you for the question. We have limited resources, and we support, we will follow the law. We will disburse the funds as Congress appropriates them to us, and so if they go to the STEP program, we will certainly manage that program.
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