Minnesota companies were assessing the damage Tuesday of the nascent trade war between the United States and its three biggest trade partners, an escalating tit-for-tat that could affect billions of dollars in state imports and exports.
Economist John Spry predicts with the new Trump tariffs, the price is going up. “Roughly $100 a month more for the stuff you buy for as long as they’re in effect,” explains Spry, a finance professor at the University of St. Thomas. “These are big tariffs: 25% on everything from Canada and Mexico, except for a lower 10% on energy.”
Two of America’s largest retailers, based in Minnesota, are warning prices will increase following President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada and China.
Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• “We believe in comparative advantage,” Cargill CEO Brian Sikes said at an Economic Club of Minnesota event last week.
A Minnesota farmer worries about the price of fertilizer. A San Diego entrepreneur deals with an unexpected cost increase of remodeling a restaurant. A Midwestern sheet metal fabricator bemoans the prospect of higher aluminum prices.