Berkshire County — On Saturday, Feb. 1, President Donald J. Trump announced that his administration would impose import tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. Through the White House website, President Trump’s press office announced:
The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Until the crisis is alleviated, President Donald J. Trump is implementing a 25 percent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 percent additional tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10 percent tariff. President Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.
In the announcement, the administration states that the tariffs are “using our leverage to ensure Americans’ Safety.”
Access to the American market is a privilege. The United States has one of the most open economies in the world, and the lowest average tariff rates in the world.
Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest. President Trump is using the tools at hand and taking decisive action that puts Americans’ safety and our national security first.
Though previous Administrations have failed to leverage America’s combination of exceptional strength and its unique role in world trade to advance the security interests of the American people, President Trump has not.
As widely reported in the media, on Monday, February 3, President Trump announced he would pause enforcement of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico after both countries agreed to boost crime enforcement on their borders.
Meanwhile, the 10 percent tariff on China’s products took effect on Tuesday, February 4, and China has struck back with tariffs of its own on American products.
1Berkshire President and CEO Jonathan Butler told The Berkshire Edge that the tariffs will have negative impacts on the economy of Berkshire County. According to its website, 1Berkshire is the official regional economic organization and regional tourism council of Berkshire County. “The short answer is, yes, we should all be worried,” Butler said. “Anything that increases costs on businesses will increase costs on consumers. This will add additional pressures that residents of the Berkshires and across the country can’t afford right now.”
Butler emphasized that people throughout the country have been dealing with high inflation costs for several years. “Consumer spending power is down throughout the country, and it certainly is down in the region,” Butler said. “I haven’t talked to a single business leader in the region in the past few months that has anything positive to say about tariffs.”
Butler said that the tariffs will have an impact on housing across the region due to the rising prices of construction materials. “Housing is a huge concern in the region, and there is a lot of collaboration and support right now for more housing development,” Butler said. “But one of the struggles with housing development is the cost of materials. The United States gets most of its timber from Canada. So, right out of the gate, the number one economic issue that the region is most concerned with is affected because of the cost of materials.”
Butler explained that if the cost of building construction materials rises due to tariffs, it will also impact organizations and businesses who are planning building expansions. “A lot of our larger employers in the Berkshire County area have expansion plans in the works,” Butler said. “I have had conversations with these business leaders, and the common theme I have heard in these conversations is that they are all already facing an imbalance in terms of the cost of business to begin with, and that has been further impacted by inflation, and this has all been further impacted by the reduction in consumer spending power. Businesses are dealing with their costs and the consumer market’s ability to purchase their products. Tariffs will not contribute positively to any of that. There’s great concern, but there is also confusion as to why these tariffs all need to happen right now, and there is a lack of answers.”
“I think it’s pretty clear we’re living in a time where inflation has gotten out of control, and it has affected the spending power of the consumer market,” Butler added. “We have economic duress in this country and a lack of plants to resolve it. Why add another burden that doesn’t even have a good international explanation to it? Consumers are already under duress partly because of inflation, wage stagnation, and an imbalance between supply, demand, and consumer spending power.”
Butler said that while the tariffs will be an economic challenge for Berkshire County businesses, businesses will try their best to work with their customers. “Our businesses all know their consumers and the market they are all working within,” Butler said. “I’m confident that the business community will try to meet consumers in the middle with whatever economic cost this has. The increased costs due to the tariffs will not get passed directly down to consumers in every instance, but it’s going to impact consumers and businesses in some way.”
Butler added that many businesses in Berkshire County are still recovering from the pandemic. “These tariffs will become another layer of pressure on top of the other multiple layers of pressure that have been applied in recent years,” Butler said. “I don’t think it’s unrealistic to say that some Berkshire County businesses might finally hit the breaking point because of the tariffs if they are put in place for too long.”