YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Trump administration’s plan to move forward with tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico has rattled companies across the region as they assess what impact the policy will have on their business and customers.
This is especially significant for firms that rely on exporting and importing goods and services on the global market, said Mousa Kassis, executive director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center Export Assistance Network.
“Our client companies are concerned about the extra cost, and whether they will be able to push these costs on to the customer or cut into their profits,” Kassis said.
The EAN, based in the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University, provides companies located in 13 Ohio counties with counseling and help building their export initiatives. In 2024, the organization’s client companies increased international sales by $19 million.
President Donald Trump said last week he plans to enact a 25% tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico beginning Tuesday, and a 10% tariff on China. The Chinese tariffs are in addition to the 10% tariff the administration enacted in early February.
The measures are sure to bring retaliatory tariffs that these countries would slap on U.S. goods, making it less competitive to sell American products there.
Trump’s rationale is to use trade as leverage to force these countries to crack down on illicit drug traffic that has crossed into the U.S.
So far, policies have riled the global market, and Kassis said local companies he deals with have expressed concerns over the tariffs’ impact on sales, inflation, consumer spending power and the overall economy.
“Should all of these tariffs be enacted, it would increase costs by an average of $1,200 per household,” Kassis said. “That comes out to the highest tax on U.S. consumers ever.”
Kassis points out that the use of tariffs – that is, a charge on goods being imported to the United States – is not necessarily bad policy. However, he said that now is not an appropriate time to enact such trade measures, as the country is still reeling from inflationary pressures that have strained U.S. households.
Plus, there already is in place a 25% tariff on goods such as steel and aluminum and related finished products – mostly imported from China – which led to increased market prices, Kassis said. Complicating matters further was the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to supply chain disruptions and even higher prices.
“These prices are still sticking with consumers,” Kassis said. “When you add another tariff, it’s a whole new ball game.”
David Caruso, vice president of Haltec Corp. in Leetonia, said his company imports certain tire valves from China that are then sold in the U.S. and to other countries. Since 2016, these products have been subject to the 25% surcharge.
Yet companies such as Haltec that have been paying the 2016 tariffs were also candidates for the duty drawback program, Caruso said. This allows a company to recover a large portion of the tariff if the product was being shipped to another country. “We could get 99% of that money back,” he noted.
No such luck this time around, Caruso said. “With the new tariffs on China, there’s no duty drawback,” he said. “There’s no recovery if we buy the product from China and sell the product to Mexico or Canada.”
Therefore, another 10% tariff without any hope for duty drawbacks could be significant, Caruso said.
Haltec manufactures tire inflation systems that are used in a variety of industries such as mining, aviation, commercial fleets and passenger and light truck markets.
Most disconcerting for the company is whether the Trump administration will levy tariffs on raw products from other countries, such as copper from Brazil, Caruso added.
“Right now, it’s our main concern,” Caruso said.
Haltec purchases large quantities of brass that is used to manufacture its inflation valves and systems, he continued. “All of our material that we use to build our valves is made of brass,” he said, “which is 76% copper.”
At present, no such tariff exists on the material, and there’s little action the company can take until they are enacted.
“At the end of the day, we have to hold steadfast for 90 or 100 days and see what happens,” Caruso said.
The Export Assistance Network’s Kassis equates Trump’s trade policies as a “shock and awe” approach that might take some time to work its way forward, and certain compromises could be forged “when the dust settles.”
Meanwhile, EAP has reached out to its client companies to gather their assessment on the matter, said Mariah Hauser, international trade specialist at the organization. “We’re doing a survey with our clients, asking what they’re preparing to do to mitigate these tariffs,” she said. “Are they going to change their suppliers? Buying domestic?” she asked rhetorically.
Kassis said repercussions from tariffs are several-fold and can ripple beyond just cost. “Many companies could be scrambling to see who has the lowest tariffs and could create a large disturbance in business and the supply chain,” he said.
Ohio could be particularly impacted, Kassis said, noting that in 2024, the state exported nearly $57 billion in goods, and another $23 billion to $24 billion worth of services.
Moreover, this disruption could impact a company’s relationship with customers, sales, employment and new investment.
“I wish it was as simple as the cost,” Kassis said. “Companies hate uncertainty. So we’ll wait and see.”
Pictured at top: Mousa Kassis and Mariah Hauser.