Trump tariffs could hit local businesses, impacting consumers
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - On Tuesday, tariffs imposed on China by President Donald Trump go into effect and additional tariffs on Mexico and Canada could come by March if negotiations fall through.
This is all part of Trump’s war on fentanyl, but in the meantime, those tariffs could be felt by you, the consumer.
This could impact everything from alcohol to chocolate and coffee to car parts.
If you have a car you might feel the impact in your wallet. Local auto shops expect prices to go up not only on car parts but new vehicles too.
This is unless national vendors are able to absorb the cost.
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It’s something a customer never likes to hear.
“I love my job this is my least favorite part of it is having to break the news to somebody that they have repairs and I know these repairs are out of their means,” said Jake Knighton, a service advisor at Boowyer Built. “That is not something that anybody I think should take any enjoyment in.”
Bowyer Built says they already don’t work with large margins, causing their hands to be tied.
“There are some people that we have, you know, a $500 estimate is something they have to budget for for three months,” said Knighton. “So in turn, what was now a $500 estimate is now $1,000. These people are having to push their repairs off for even longer. I can’t give work away for free but at the same time, I can completely understand why people are going to be put in very difficult places with their vehicles.”
Potential higher costs for everyone all around.
“With COVID having already impacted the vehicle market, vehicle prices are already high and they haven’t come back down from when they were pre-COVID,” said Knighton. “So in turn, even though the parts are going to be more expensive, we do believe we’re going to see an increase in people trying to repair and maintain their vehicle and keep it on the road because some of these newer vehicles we do anticipate to be entirely out of people’s price ranges and dealers aren’t going to come down on them either because their hands are tied as well with the tariffs.”
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Trying their hardest to still give a fair price, while still staying afloat as a business.
“It’s going to drastically change the market and I mean all of these businesses and manufacturers, we’ve dealt with it before with COVID, I do think it’s going to be difficult, but I don’t think people here are going to not be able to handle it.
Now he says they’ve also seen an increase in business post-COVID when car prices were inflated too, but it’s not the kind of business they take pride in and say they always try their hardest to give the best price and discounts when they can.
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