Tariffs bring uncertainty for Western Pa. consumers, businesses
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Ami Robinson said she had been pinching pennies before President Donald Trump’s new tariffs against America’s three biggest trading partners took effect Tuesday.
“I think things were already more expensive than they were last year,” Robinson, 40, of Dormont, said after leaving the Target store in Downtown Pittsburgh.
“It’s just a question now of how much higher are they going to go and what is something people will tolerate,” she added. “It’s going to get to a point where people can’t afford things anymore.”
Trump’s new tariffs resulted in immediate retaliatory tariffs from Mexico, Canada and China and rattled many U.S. consumers, business owners and investors.
Robinson said she has already cut back spending on items that aren’t necessities and opted for secondhand, cheaper options when possible. She doesn’t buy prepared foods anymore and is less likely to pay for pricier name brands when generic options are available. Rather than buying new toys for her son, she said she sifts through listings on no-buy Facebook groups or swaps unused items with neighbors and relatives.
“We’re just buying less because we have to,” she said.
She said she’s worried new tariffs could add to her grocery bill.
Some imported goods whose prices were expected to be hit first included gas, computers and other electronics, clothes, toys, Mexican avocados and popular alcoholic beverages such as tequila and Canadian whiskey.
Outside the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store in Downtown Pittsburgh, Jeannette Hickman, 55, of Point Breeze, said she had considered stockpiling bottles of Canadian whiskey but opted to buy some vodka instead. She said she’s also concerned about the impact on avocado prices.
Unlike whiskey, Hickman said, “You can’t stockpile avocados.”
Pat Hart, 83, of Hempfield purchased an avocado and some tomato sauce Tuesday while grabbing some goceries at the Shop ‘n Save supermarket on North Main Street in Greensburg.
She said she’s already seen her grocery bill double because of inflation, and she’s worried about the impact of the trariffs on produce.
“Fruit and vegetables are gong to go up in price, and we eat a lot of them,” she said. “That’s how we got to be in our 80s.”
“But what are you going to do about it?” said her husband, Tom, who is 85. For one thing, he topped of their car’s gas tank in advance of the tariffs taking effect.
Auto prices also could be impacted, as auto companies have built supply chains that cross the borders of the United States, Mexico and Canada. More than one in five of the cars and light trucks sold in the United States were built in Canada or Mexico, according to S&P Global Mobility. Last year, the U.S. imported $79 billion worth of cars and light trucks from Mexico — far more than any other country — and $31 billion from Canada. Another $81 billion in auto parts came from Mexico, $19 billion from Canada and $18 billion from China.
Target’s CEO said Tuesday that the company could hike prices in coming days in response to tariffs, while Best Buy’s chief executive warned that price increases are “highly likely,” according to NBC News. Walmart also has said that it’s “not going to be completely immune” from the impact of tariffs, NBC News reported last month.
Wall Street reacted immediately — and adversely — to the tariffs taking effect. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7% Tuesday morning, the Nasdaq fell 0.6% and the Dow slid 423 points, or 1%.
Markets in Europe also fell sharply while stocks in Asia saw more modest declines.
Some recent polling has signaled concern about inflation and the economy.
A CBS/YouGov poll published this week showed at least 80% of those surveyed said they felt Trump should make dealing with the economy and inflation a high priority, tops among all issues, but 36% said they felt Trump was prioritizing the economy “a lot” compared with 29% for inflation.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll, released last week, showed 20% of those surveyed felt the country was headed in the right direction as far as their cost of living compared to 64% who felt it was on the wrong track.
Nicole Lojak, 41, of Fawn, said she isn’t sure what to make of the tariffs. With her family including both Democrats and Republicans, she said she gets conflicting accounts of how tariffs will impact the economy and her own pocketbook.
“I don’t know how to feel about it,” Lojak said.
Patricia Mastic, 74, of the Natrona Heights section of Harrison, said she and her husband are accustomed to watching their spending as retirees on fixed incomes.
While Matsic said she’s concerned about tariffs further driving up prices on groceries, she added, “We’re going to roll with the punches. There’s nothing else we can do … We’re stuck like everybody else in a hard place.”
The Associated Press contributed.