Instead of lowering costs for everyday goods, Trump’s tariffs will skyrocket prices
LANSING — In case you missed it, earlier today Detroit Free Press contributing columnist Andrea Bitely outlined the devastating consequences of Trump’s promised 25% tariffs on neighboring Canada. While Trump has tried to claim that these will somehow help Michiganders save money, it is overwhelmingly clear that these tariffs will put people out of work while simultaneously driving up prices on groceries, gas, utilities, and more.
This isn’t a partisan issue. Bitely is a Republican, and she, like economists across the political spectrum, knows that tariffs would destroy Michigan’s middle class while hurting families trying to put food on the table. The Biden-Harris administration and Michigan Democrats have built a world-class economy here in Michigan where workers can thrive — but with Trump’s planned tariffs, all that is about to disappear.
The bottom line is, Michiganders don’t deserve to be at the whim of an extremist who simply does what he wants and doesn’t care who he hurts. No matter what he does, Michigan Dems will never stop working to protect Michigan families from Trump’s dangerous agenda.
Read more about Trump’s dangerous tariffs below:
Detroit Free Press: Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canada will wreck Michigan economy | Opinion
- Tariffs will close the global market to America — and this will crush Michigan.
- Around $700 billion worth of stuff went back and forth between the U.S. and Canada in the first 11 months of 2024, with 25% of it crossing between Detroit and Windsor…
- Trump has threatened to place a 25% tariff on Canadian goods — potentially disrupting the decades-long back and forth between Big Three plants and suppliers in Detroit and Windsor — and disrupting supply chains far and wide.
- This kind of tariff will change the way we live.
- If the cost of bringing goods across the border soars, it’s going to mean more than higher prices. When goods stop being affordable, people will stop buying them.
- Meaning the person that stocks the shelf won’t be needed, nor will the truck driver who delivers the products. And if the trucks aren’t being driven to deliver the goods, then there won’t be a popped tire on a Michigan road, which means the guy at the tire shop won’t be needed to replace the tire, which means the tire won’t need to be made…
- Suddenly, one little tariff to punish the Canadians starts to feel very like a very 2007 Michigan economy.
- It’s not just cost. It’s also point of origin.
- Around 25% of the oil we turn into gasoline and other products comes from Canada. The average cost of a gallon of gas right now is about $3.07. If Canada raised oil prices to offset the cost of a 25% tariff, Americans could wind up paying more at the pump
- If you think the price of eggs is high now, imagine what it will be like when gas is up at the pump. Any items that have to be transported (in other words, everything that you aren’t growing in your own garden, with seeds that you’ve harvested from previous seasons) will cost more. Eggs are just the beginning.
- Who will hurt if this happens? Everyone.
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