States are telling bond investors that the increasing trade wars stirred up by President Trump’s tariffs could have negative impacts on their financial bottom lines.
In documents outlining recent bond sales, Illinois and Washington cautioned investors about the impact of tariffs. Reuters points out that those are two of the top five exporting states.
Illinois, a state with a poor financial record, said the trade disputes could hurt the states’ agricultural and manufacturing industries, which are among the most robust such industries in the country. The Land of Lincoln held a $966 million general obligation refunding bond sale last week.
“Higher tariffs on imports will likely lead to retaliation by trading partners, which could reduce exports,” said the preliminary official statement for that bond sale.
Trump’s tariffs on various goods entering the U.S. from China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union have already been met with similar tariffs on goods exported from America.
Washington has an impending $502 million general obligation bond sale. Documents related to that sale noted that the West Coast state exports about $90 billion in products, with most of them going to Canada, China, and Japan.
“The federal administration and Congressional leaders have attempted, proposed or made major changes to the trade policy, in addition to other actions, which could potentially have detrimental effects on the state’s budget,” reads the preliminary official statement for Washington’s bond sale.
California argued in a preliminary official statement for its sale this Wednesday of $989 million in general obligation bonds that the trade wars could potentially trigger a recession due to lost jobs and higher costs for consumer goods.