Mayor Eric Adams on Monday said he is taking a wait-and-see approach to President Trump’s tariff increases on imports from several countries even as many local pols fear they could significantly raise prices on New Yorkers and hurt local businesses.
Hizzoner, during an unrelated Monday news conference, said the Trump administration needs to “find the right balance” with the tariff increases it imposed on Mexico, Canada, and China over the weekend. He added that his budget director, Jacques Jiha, and other top city officials are doing “an analysis” on how the tariffs could impact the five boroughs economically.
At the same time, Adams also appeared to agree with Trump’s rationale for the tariffs, arguing they are necessary to crack down on the flow of undocumented migrants into the country.
“We have to make sure that our borders are secure,” Adams said. “When you hear those who are entering our northern region that are on the terrorist watch list, when you’re hearing some of the other issues that we’re facing, we need to ensure this is a safe country generally, but specifically, a safe city.”
Shortly after Adams’ Monday remarks, it was reported that the White House reached a deal with the Mexican government to delay the tariff increase on that country by a month while the two sides worked on a deal around border security. He also paused tariff hikes on Canada for 30 days on Monday afternoon.
Adams argued the city is a “top target” for foreign terrorists as well as a destination for migrants who cross the border illegally — implying the tariffs are necessary to deter both groups from coming here. He added that keeping New Yorkers safe is a “top focus” of local business leaders.
The mayor’s comments on Trump’s tariffs stand in stark contrast to those from most New York Democrats. Over the weekend, Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, among many others, raised alarm bells over the tariff increases, which could potentially make everyday items more expensive and hurt local businesses.
Hochul, during a Sunday MSNBC interview, said the tariffs could result in New Yorkers having to pay an additional $1,400 this year, which she said would counteract her own initiatives to lower the cost of living.
“In a time when I’m working so hard to put money back in New Yorkers pockets, an additional $1,300, $1,400 a year is going to take that money right back out,” she said. “So consumers are the ones who are going to bear the brunt of this, and that’s what concerns me so much.”
But Adams said his hesitance to take a position on the tariffs is more prudent than the “knee-jerk” reactions from his fellow elected officials.
“I think one of the biggest mistakes that people are making, they are knee-jerk reactions to everything; we’re not going to do that,” Adams said. “We’re gonna analyze, we’re gonna understand the real impact, so we’re not giving out false information. This is a moment of really understanding the impacts of everything that is happening right now and not just throwing rocks.”
Adams’ reluctance to criticize Trump’s tariff increases follows multiple outlets reporting late last week that his attorney, Alex Spiro, is in talks with the president’s Justice Department about dropping the federal corruption case against him. Reports of the talks came after months of speculation that Adams has been currying favor with Trump in a bid to get the president’s help with his legal issues.
Trump has publicly questioned the validity of the charges against Adams, arguing former President Biden’s Justice Department targeted him for criticizing the administration’s handling of immigration. The president has said he is open to giving Adams a pardon should he get convicted.
The mayor’s comments also came a couple of weeks after he vowed to no longer publicly broadcast his disagreements with Trump, opting to only communicate them directly to the president.
“If I do disagree, I will communicate with him directly on them,” Adams said at the time. “I don’t want to be part of what feeds the anxiety of going back and forth in this public discourse that we’re seeing.”
Meanwhile, a new poll on the mayoral race released Monday shows Mayor Adams not only with single-digit support from those surveyed, but also that nearly two-thirds of them (64%) feel he is too tight with Trump.
