Fixed Incomes, Rising Costs: How Trump’s 20% Tariff Spike Violates Disability Rights

Two days ago, I sent a formal letter to Canada’s Minister of International Trade, expressing my deep concern over President Trump’s newly announced 35% tariff on Canadian exports. In the letter, I strongly urged Minister Sidhu to initiate a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint against this unfair and retaliatory trade action.

Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research estimates that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs have driven the US effective tariff rate from just 2.3% at the start of the year to about 21%—the highest level since 1910. This near-19-point jump has translated into roughly a 20% increase in the cost of imported consumer goods, including essential items like electronics, building supplies, and medical equipment.

Disabled individuals, who often subsist on fixed incomes and already face higher living expenses for mobility aids, medications, and home adaptations, will bear a disproportionate share of this burden. Under Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), States Parties must ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy an adequate standard of living and social protection without discrimination.

To uphold these rights globally, I intend to submit a communication to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. My complaint will argue that the tariffs—and any retaliatory duties—violate disabled people’s right to an adequate standard of living by arbitrarily inflating the cost of necessities they can ill afford.