ORLANDO, Fla. — Local businesses could see higher costs as the U.S. and Canada seek to impose equal tariffs on each other, with the first round expected as soon as September.
The tariffs would affect goods like dairy, steel, and lumber, to name a few. At Southeast Steel, President Stuart Kimball said rising costs and uncertainty are already affecting business.
“Business is slow, and I think people are leery. They don’t know what’s going on,” Kimball said.
Kimball, who has worked for the family business for 50 years, said he has seen nothing like the effects of the on-again, off-again tariff wars. Despite seeing the cost of living and the value of a dollar change over the decades, he shared that the uncertainty is a concern that business owners and consumers share.
“A lot of the parts that come in from Canada are going to go up 50% or have a 50% tariff,” Kimball said. “Well, the manufacturers can’t absorb that. So, who ends up paying for it — you pay for it. I pay for it. Whoever buys the product.”
University of Central Florida (UCF) political science Professor Aubrey Jewett said the last time the U.S. and other countries embraced tariffs in a similar way was in the 1920s and ’30s, which ultimately led to the Great Depression.
“It drove employment down, it drove prices up, and it was pretty much the worst economic disaster in modern history,” Jewett said.
Though some of the proposed tariffs would not take effect until next year, leaving time for negotiations to continue, Jewett shared that right now, the effects can be felt beyond the wallet but at the ballot box as well.
According to Jewett, affordability and inflation were two of the biggest issues for American voters and consumers. He said with the cost of gas, groceries and the blowback from tariffs, he believes that may affect decisions come November.
“By pushing these tariffs, prices are probably going to stay up, and that certainly politically is not going to help,” he said.
Jewett said tariffs involving Canada, a major supplier of wood and paper products to the U.S., could have a significant effect on housing prices, as well as the cost of automobiles and auto parts.
“Inflation is running about 3.4%,” Jewett said. “The Federal Reserve says that their main target is to keep it at about 2%, well it hasn’t been at 2% for quite a while, and these tariffs are unfortunately probably going to keep it up for a while.”
The first round of proposed tariffs is expected to take effect by Sept. 8, with a second round of tariffs tentatively set to roll out early next year.