RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Here is an update on the ever-changing tariff situation.
President Donald Trump is now granting some US automakers a one-month reprieve on a new 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico.
This comes after the President talked to the Big Three automakers on Wednesday. The pause comes amid fears a trade war could harm US manufacturers.
Despite that reprieve, there is still much uncertainty. What could we soon be paying “more” for?
The next time you get some work done on your car, the bill might be higher than expected.
That’s because there’s now a 25% tariff on almost everything crossing the Mexico and Canadian border, and experts tell 12 On Your Side it’s not just cars you have to worry about.
“The big concern is right immediately,” Certified Auto Repair Co-Owner Stan Andrewski said. “What’s going to happen through this as we’re negotiating is what I think is actually happening here.”
Concerns about price hikes are rising after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs against America’s three biggest trading partners this week, with immediate retaliation from Canada, Mexico and China.
“This is not new to us as shop owners,” Andrewski said. “I’ve been negotiating with our suppliers for a good long time on how to keep the community pricing down.”
Andrewski said this includes car parts, which could be much more expensive.
“Now that may change for new cars,” Andrewski said. “If you’re going to buy new cars, it may be more beneficial to keep your car and maintain it than to buy new because new car pricing is going to be all over the place for a longer period of time than just the part.”
It’s not just cars that will be impacted.
“Machine parts, chemical, oil and gas, agricultural products coming in, and a lot of that stuff going out, because we make different versions of those categories,” VCU economic professor Stephen Day said.
Day says anything from your coffee, liquor and electronics could change prices.
As for the long-term effects, he said that’s still to be determined.
“A tariff is a tax; it’s no more or no less than a tax,” Day said. “These particular taxes are pretty high, 25% and because it can be issued on something again and again throughout the supply chain, it could be a big, big deal but it also could be a little deal if you are willing to pay the tax, if the tariffs go away, and stuff like that so it’s difficult to say how long lasting it will be and it’ll be different for each product.”
Both Day and Andrewski said this, of course, depends on how long the tariffs last and whether some sort of deal can be made.
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