A farmer in Minnesota worries about the price of trash. An entrepreneur of San Diego deals with a sudden increase in the cost of remodeling a restaurant. A Midwest Sheet Metallic Manufacturer disturbs the prospect of aluminum prices.
Businesses knew that Trump’s import taxes – fees – in America’s biggest trade partners were planned to take effect on Tuesday. But many of them assumed that they would receive a comeback. After all, the unpredictable president had delayed fees In Canada and Mexico for 30 days immediately before they initially had to begin on February 4.
There is no such luck this time.
At midnight Tuesday, the United States imposed 25% fees for goods from Canada and Mexico, starting a trade war with its nearest neighbors and allies. Trump also doubled his 10% taxes on Chinese imports in a series of movements that received the highest level tariffs since the 1940s. Canadian energy has shown a mercy, taxing at 10% lower.
All three countries immediately announced their vengeance fees.
Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick later said Tuesday that the US is likely to meet Canada and Mexico “In the middle”, with a notice coming immediately on Wednesday. Lutnick told Fox Business News that tariffs would not stop, but that Trump would reach a compromise.
The longer the tariffs climb, the more damage they can do, forcing companies to decide between eating higher costs and switching to tired inflation consumers. If tariffs and revenge last one year, economist Kathy Bostjancic of nationwide estimates, US economic growth will be more than 1 percentage point lower and inflation 0.6 percentage points higher than they would have been different.
Manuel Soteli, who runs a Mexican truck fleeing goods across the southern US border, did not expect Trump to roll over $ 2.2 trillion in American trade with Mexico, Canada and China.
“I really thought that last afternoon or last night Trump would have changed the course,” Sotelo said Tuesday, who has a Bobblehead Trump after his table.
This is not in any small part because Mexico has already taken steps to address visible complaints after Tuesday’s Tuesday Tuesday – The flow of drugs and illegal immigrants – including sending 10,000 troops on the border.
But the president went ahead with the tariffs, and now businesses are trying to deal with them.
David Spatafore, who owns several restaurants in San Diego, said his businesses have already been accumulated by Increased egg pricing and milk during the last month. Tuesday’s fees are just the last blow.
“Everything in the entire table is affected,” Spatafore said.
One of its restaurants has also been in the midst of a remodeling, which has grown more and more expensive as tariffs hit Canadian lumber and steel.
“We were in the middle of a quotation for a custom oven,” he said, when the contractor increased the cost of fees for his evaluation. Thin margins in the restaurant industry means that it is difficult to eat the highest expenses.
“Where do you think to adopt it?” He said.
In Oxnard Production Mission, California, who packs avocados and mangoes and distributes them to supermarkets and restaurants around the world, co -founders and CEO Steve Barnard will not have to raise prices immediately. Production mission still has a Mexican avocado inventory and other products that are matured in its US warehouses.
But “if this lasts 10 days or more, our costs will be essentially different,” he said. “We will have to go out on the table and understand something.”
Barnard expects that large retailers will resist price raising, while smaller, independent chains may have to raise prices faster because they have less pre-tariff inventory.
“My company will feel an immediate, harmful impact as a result of these tariffs,” said Traci Tapani, co-president with her sister Wyoming Machine, a metal manufacturer in Stacy, Minnesota based on Canadian aluminum, in a statement. Tapani is the vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council. “Threats and uncertainty have made it difficult to make business decisions, and these kinds of tariffs will make it extremely difficult for small businesses like mine to grow.”
In Cannon Falls, Minnesota, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Minneapolis, farmer Danny Lundell is particularly concerned that Trump’s import taxes will raise the price of Canadian Potas trash.
“We need potash to increase the healthiest crops,” he said. “And it doesn’t matter if you are big, middle or small, it will affect you.” “
Mineral’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, visited the Lundell farm on Tuesday to criticize Trump for endangering relations with his state’s biggest trading partners.
Higher costs are not the only consequence of Trump’s trade wars. There is also uncertainty as the president threatens, delays and actually imposes import taxes.
“Things are unfolding so fast,” Brian Cornell, General Director of Seller with Retail Targettold reporters on Tuesday. “We will look at this carefully and understand: are these long -term tariffs? Is this a short -term action? How will this unfold over time? I think we are all speculating. ”
Uncertainty can receive an economic fee as businesses delay plans to make investments and register new suppliers until they know which countries and products are likely to be tariff objectives.
During Trump’s first -time trade battles, US business investments weakened at the end of 2019, causing the federal reserve to lower its standard interest rate three times in the second half of the year to provide a compensatory economic stimulus.
Adding uncertainty now are Trump’s plans for more fees, no less his call “Reciprocal Tariffs” to increase US tasks to match the highest tariffs charged by other countries. Trump can also impose more fees on the European Union, India, computer chips, autos and pharmaceutical drugs.
“Everything else that is going down the pipeline is what adds uncertainty,” said Antonio Rivera, a partner in international trade practice at the Arentfox Schiff Legal Firm.
The Boutique Whiskeyjack Gift Store in Windsor, Ontario, has received some ordinary customers: Americans stopping to apologize for Trump’s decision to start a trade war with Canada.
“They are fascinated by what is happening, and they do not support what is happening, and they do not like how Canada is pulling through the mud,” Katie Stokes, co -owner of the shop.
Stokes has also heard Canadians planning to cancel plans to take vacation in the United States.
“Almost almost repentant and sad, as people are upset and they don’t love how they are playing,” she said.
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Writers of the Associated Press Jaimie Ding staff at Los Angeles; Anne d’innoverenzio in New York;, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Mike Hamylyer in Windsor, Ontario, Canada; Megan Jagani in Mexico City; And Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.