Sullivan repeatedly voted against lifting Trump's tariffs, despite explicit warnings from Alaska seafood groups. Sullivan's brother, CEO of the Sullivan family's multi-billion dollar manufacturing business RPM International, bemoaned Trump's tariffs and passed on their tariff burden to American consumers. Senator Sullivan defended Trump’s tariffs, claiming he was transparent about his tariff strategy throughout his campaign. With the third highest export-to-import ratio in Alaska, the state is more vulnerable to retaliatory tariffs than most of the country. 70% of Alaskan small businesses, which employ more than half of the state, were forced to increase prices as a result of the tariffs.
Alaska Seafood Groups Warned Against Trade Wars And Potential Retaliatory Impacts On Alaska Seafood But Sullivan Twice Voted Against Lifting Trump’s Tariffs. According to The Alaska Independent, “In March 2025, amid an escalating trade war with China triggered by Trump’s implementation of tariffs, two trade groups representing Alaska’s largest seafood processors, the Pacific Seafood Processors Association and the At-Sea Processors Association, sent a letter to the office of the U.S. trade representative urging caution on trade policies to avoid potential retaliation by other countries that could harm the state. [...] In April 2025, just hours after Trump announced his first round of tariffs, Republican Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan voted against a resolution that would have ended the state of emergency the president had declared as grounds for imposing specific tariffs on Canada. That resolution passed the Republican-led Senate 51-49, with some Republicans joining Democrats in voting for it, but never was brought up for a vote in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Sullivan voted against a resolution that would have ended the state of emergency Trump used to justify his global tariffs later that month as well. The resolution failed 49-49.” [Alaska Independent, 9/11/26]
Sullivan Steadfastly Supported Trump’s Tariffs But Sullivan’s Brother, CEO Of RPM International Frank Sullivan, Railed Against The Tariffs And Their Impacts On The Family Company’s Earnings. According to The New York Times, “In Washington, Senator Dan Sullivan has offered reliable support for President Trump’s tariffs, even as they have roiled the economy and angered consumers. But back home in Alaska, as he campaigns for re-election, he has stayed largely silent on the issue. His calculation is similar to those of Republicans across the country, as they navigate backing Mr. Trump while also appealing to voters who give the president poor grades on his stewardship of the economy. But it stands in stark contrast to the frustration expressed by Senator Sullivan’s older brother, the chief executive officer of their family manufacturing business. His brother, Frank Sullivan, has described the tariffs as a huge headache in earnings calls for the company, RPM International, which makes a number of well-known products including Rust-Oleum, Roto-Rooter and The Pink Stuff.” [New York Times, 9/14/26]
RPM Continued To Increase Dividends And Raise Payouts To Major Shareholders—Including Sullivan. According to The New York Times, “The strategy — and the decision to pass along some costs to consumers — allowed the company to deliver its 52nd year of increased dividends to shareholders, a group that includes Senator Sullivan, who held as much as $5 million in company stock, according to his latest financial disclosure report.” [New York Times, 9/14/26]
Both Sullivan And RPM Declined To Comment On The Tariffs And Sullivan’s Personal Finances. According to The New York Times, “His campaign declined to comment on his personal finances or share his views on the latest round of tariffs on Canada. Representatives from RPM did not respond to requests for comment.” [New York Times, 9/14/26]
Sullivan Stated That There Is “No Bigger Issue” Than China And Mexico “Flooding Our Country With Fentanyl” And That Tariffs Would Send A Message Regarding Drug Trafficking. According to Alaska News Source, “On Tuesday, Sullivan said in support of President-elect Trump that he was very transparent during his campaign about using tariffs to gain leverage over other countries on big issues. ‘I will tell you, there’s not a bigger issue, in my view, than the fact that China and Mexico are flooding our country with fentanyl,’ Sullivan said. ‘So hitting the Chinese hard with tariffs and saying, ‘Hey, joke’s over, we’re going to come at you really hard until you stop poisoning our citizens’ - I’m actually totally okay with that, and President Trump made that clear.’” [Alaska News Source, 11/27/24]
Sullivan Claimed That Trump Was Transparent In His Campaign On His Proposed Tariffs And Supported Them. “Well look, again it’s one of these things, the President campaigned on this, right. This is not something that, you know one of the things I think Vice President Harris had a problem with in her election, she didn’t really lay out her agenda, it was very hard to discern what she stood for, President Trump was very transparent and the one thing he said was I’m gonna use tariffs to get leverage over other countries on big issues. And I’ll tell you that I don’t think there’s a bigger issue than the fact that China and Mexico are flooding our country with fentanyl.” [Alaska News Source, 11/26/24]
[VIDEO] Sullivan Supported The Use Of Tariffs On Mexico And Canada To Combat Fentanyl Overdoses, Calling For “Tougher Action.” “The Mexican drug cartels have made it all the way up to our state and our native villages , believe it or not. So when the president came out and said, look, I'm going to use these tariffs with regard to Mexico and China to get them to finally focus on stop poisoning Americans, you know, I think there's a lot of support for that, particularly given, remember, Xi Jinping did a deal with President Trump, Xi Jinping did a deal with President Biden on reducing fentanyl. The guy has not kept his word. And I think tougher action is needed. I think Americans support that. This fentanyl crisis is a huge one, and the president is really focused on it.” [Kudlow, 3/17/25]; 250317_BGO_5484_A
Sullivan Called For The Use Of Tariffs To Prevent The Flow Of Fentanyl Into America. According to the Alaska Beacon, “Sullivan’s office, in a statement released after his vote, said, ‘Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl crossing the northern border to kill more than 9 million Americans.’ ‘Senator Sullivan believes that we should not accept any amount of deadly fentanyl coming in from either our Southern or Northern border,’ said the emailed statement. ‘For the last two years in a row, Alaska has experienced the largest increase in drug overdose death rates of any state in the country. Senator Sullivan believes we need to do everything we can to stop the poisoning of Alaskans and Americans, including using tariffs as leverage to get Canada, Mexico and China to put more resources into stopping this deadly drug from coming into our country. The senator doesn’t believe the President’s goal is to have these particular tariffs in place forever, but rather they should drive our nations toward greater cooperation on this critical challenge. The senator will be evaluating the results of this strategy and its impact on Alaskans in the weeks and months ahead.’” [Alaska Beacon, 4/3/25]
Retaliatory Tariffs Would Significantly Impact Alaska Due To Its High Export-To-Import Ratio. According to WHIO, “Other states, including Louisiana, Oregon, and many in the Midwest, export more than they import. Shipping out more than they bring in from the affected countries makes them more vulnerable to retaliatory tariffs. This import-export balance helps explain which states show up most in tariff impact rankings. The deeper the trade ties, whether as buyers or sellers, the harder it is to adapt as tariffs affect global supply chains.” [WHIO, 6/2/25]
A Study Of Alaskan Small Businesses, Which Employ Half Of The State, Found That 70% Were Forced To Increase Prices As A Result Of Tariffs. According to Alaska Public Media, “That was a common theme in a survey from the state’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) sent out in April. The center’s executive director, Jon Bittner, said the impacts on small businesses from tariffs will be far reaching. [...] About 100 small businesses have completed the survey so far. Some business owners that responded, Bittner said, mentioned they support the Trump administration’s policies even though tariffs hurt their bottom line. [...] Bittner said over 70% of small businesses with suppliers said their costs increased as a result of tariffs. Alaska has a strong small business industry. More than 75,000 small businesses employed more than half the state's workforce in 2024, according to data from the Small Business Administration.” [Alaska Public Media, 4/24/25]