Summary:
- Though most economists believe Donald Trump’s tariff policies will drive up inflation, there are some supporters of economic protectionism in North Carolina industries.
- Other North Carolina business owners are feeling the squeeze from Trump’s tariff policy.
- Tariffs are inflationary and disproportionately impact the cost of consumer and household goods, even if the effects aren’t being felt yet.
The Trump Administration’s tariff rates are ever-changing. The current tariff rates, as of early August, can be found here.
Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’, first announced on April 2, 2025, were delayed multiple times for negotiation. Most rates went into effect on August 7th.
Canada’s 35% tariff, however, went into effect on August 1st. Mexico’s current tariff of 25% will continue for another 90 days as they negotiate with the U.S. Nonetheless, most goods from Mexico and Canada are exempt from tariffs due to the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement.
The highest tariff rates are on India and Brazil, who face 50% tariffs. India’s 50% tariffs will not go into effect until August 27th. China and the United States are still in negotiations, with new tariffs not set to take effect until August 12th. China’s current rate sits at 30%.
Go Deeper: Read Carolina Forward’s Tariff Primer
Regardless of your opinion, tariffs haven’t yet been widely felt because corporations bought products en masse in anticipation of Trump’s high tariffs. The economic consensus, including from Trump’s alma mater, is that tariffs will eventually raise prices; to what extent prices will rise is not entirely certain since many firms used the inflationary period around the COVID-19 pandemic to increase prices far beyond what was required to break even.
Despite potential price increases, North Carolinians—from small business owners to economists—disagree on whether tariffs will help or hurt the economy.
The arguments for tariffs
On Fox8 WGHP, local anchor Bob Buckley interviewed North Carolinians from various industries about Trump’s tariffs. Chris Morris, owner of Vision Furniture in High Point, North Carolina, thinks the tariffs will help small business owners like himself. When Buckley asked Morris if tariffs could make U.S. furniture competitive in price to China’s, Morris responded in the affirmative. Morris added that “There [are] companies right now that are making budget furniture…that can set lines up for high volume production…With what we can do here with upholstery — especially with American-made textiles — there are factories up in Hickory right now that can make it. They’ve got looms right now that are dormant that they can turn on.”
Upholstering is one of the five original industrial arts, but like all manufacturing, the sector is in decline worldwide, not just in the United States. The feasibility of “turning on” any domestic industrial operation that has been shuttered for years is arguable at best, especially when skilled workers have retired or moved on without being replaced in the labor force.
In a similar story, The Assembly spoke with shrimper Nancy Edens, who believes tariffs are helping her industry. Edens works at B.F. Mills & Sons Seafood, which her grandfather founded in Sneads Ferry, N.C. In their interview, Edens explains that her father, a lifelong shrimper, says business has never been worse. Their customers claimed that they could import shrimp from places like India, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Vietnam for cheaper.
As of January 2025, 94% of shrimp consumed in the United States is imported. Indeed, the price of dockside shrimp is down to $2.14 per pound, worth a third or less than its cost in the 1970s, adjusted for inflation. In cases where imports are undercutting domestic industries like shrimping, tariffs can protect American companies. In practice, tariffs on cheap foreign shrimp raise the price of imported shrimp, so domestic industries are incentivized to buy American-caught shrimp for cheaper.
The arguments against tariffs
Buckley also interviewed Professor Brandon Sheridan, an economist at Elon University, who holds a less favorable view of tariffs. Sheridan explains, “You have some isolated cases where tariffs could be useful.” However, he adds, “The current round of tariffs, especially on our allies, in violation of our trade agreements, don’t, to me, seem to serve any benefit whatsoever.”
It’s not only economists who disagree with the ‘shock economics’ of Trump’s tariffs. ABC11 interviewed a small business owner whose company is losing money because of tariffs.
Joshua Esnard owns Cut Buddy, a small business that sells grooming tools and kits. Esnard reports, “At this moment, I’m working for free or at a loss … I don’t know how long we could sustain that before we close our doors.” To keep shelves stocked temporarily and to meet contractual obligations, Esnard had to place an order from China despite the 145% tariffs on China at the time of the order. Per his receipt from US Customs and Border Protection, his business paid $4,600 in tariffs on $3,000 worth of goods.
WXII 12 heard a similar story from Wise Man Brewing owner Mike Beverly. Beverly’s business brews authentic German, English, and Belgian beers. To make authentic beers, Wise Man Brewing must import grain from these countries. With the Trump Administration’s 10% baseline tariff in place, the brewery will have to pass costs onto the consumer. Beverly explained, “Even if the product was made 100% in America, because of supply and demand, because everybody’s going to be trying to buy from that same domestic supplier, their prices will go up.”
Tariffs only help in targeted capacities
There are some cases where tariffs can help industries, and many cases where tariffs harm industries. American shrimpers like Nancy Edens that are undercut by foreign competition might benefit from tariffs; however, companies like Cut Buddy and Wise Man Brewing, which rely on a global economy and free trade to keep costs low, have been hurt—and are passing that hurt onto consumers.
There are only a few industries that do not rely on imports to manufacture products; supply chains are increasingly global and rely on free trade. Putting sudden, unpredictable barriers on entire industries that rely on imports is not the answer.
While there is a better case for targeted tariffs as a pragmatic approach, there is no indication that the Trump Administration will pursue a strategic tariff policy, meaning the future is uncertain for millions of American businesses and consumers.
