FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2025
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The latest round of tariffs on steel and aluminum is causing widespread economic uncertainty and raising costs for Georgia businesses and consumers. As manufacturers, energy firms, homebuilders, and small business owners brace for financial strain, concerns are growing about the long-term effects on the U.S. economy.
Industries in Georgia and across the country are warning that these tariffs will lead to job losses, price hikes, and slowed growth. With key sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and retail already feeling the pressure, businesses and consumers alike are grappling with the consequences of rising material costs and economic instability.
Here’s what Georgians are reading about the impact of these tariffs:
Tariffs Are Costing Georgia Energy, Manufacturing, Small Businesses
Atlanta Constitution-Journal: Georgia entrepreneurs brace for tariff impacts, try to plan for uncertain future
“It is compounding an already stressful transition,” Ellis, founder of Decatur-based juice company G Ann’s Cold Pressed, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m thinking about what this might look like six months from now or even a year from now.”
Atlanta Constitution-Journal: Georgia’s builders and manufacturers steel themselves for tariff price hikes
“If the trade war continues to escalate, it could permanently reshape global supply chains and leave some industries in the U.S. significantly weakened,” said Sina Golara, assistant professor of management at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business.
Fox 5 Atlanta: Georgia businesses brace for tariff impact amid uncertainty
[McGee Eyewear Executive Vice President Matt McGee added] that it hurts a company of around 100 employees. “That’s where it hurts and makes things difficult sometimes…we don’t want to gouge our customers, and we don’t want our prices to go through the roof. But we also have to pay our people and we have to meet payroll.”
Associated Press: US factories likely to feel the pain from Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs
The tariffs will likely drive up costs for American companies that use the metals, such as automakers, construction firms and beverage makers that use cans. The threats to the economy have rattled stock markets.
MSNBC: ‘The uncertainty is killing us’: Small business owner on impact of Trump tariffs
“The uncertainty is what’s killing us right now, we started with 10% and went to 20%. Where is it going to end… We’re spinning on our heads trying to figure out what our next steps are” said Kim Vaccarella, CEO & Founder, Bogg Bags.
Realtor.com: Homebuilders warn of rising building costs as Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico take effect
“This move to raise tariffs by 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods will harm housing affordability,” National Association of Homebuilders Chairman Buddy Hughes tells Realtor.com®. “Tariffs on lumber and other building materials increase the cost of construction and discourage new development, and consumers end up paying for the tariffs in the form of higher home prices.”
Reuters: Businesses sound alarm as Trump tariff chaos hits the economy
“A market that was cruising has been disrupted by the White House,” said Patrick Kaser, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global. “The volatility is in part caused by the market’s uncertainty as to what the administration’s objectives are… why are we going after Canada, exactly?”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Harley-Davidson, and U.S. consumers, could face backlash from new Trump tariffs
Consumers and businesses not only have to worry about how much extra imported goods will cost, but whether jobs and sales will be affected by retaliatory tariffs, Brian Jacobsen, chief economist for Annex Wealth Management in Brookfield, said in a recent email to the Journal Sentinel.
Reuters: Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum to raise costs for US energy firms, experts say
“It’s probably going to be harder for service companies in 2025 to maintain their activity levels and their pricing,” said Mark Chapman, principal analyst for OFS Intelligence at Enverus.
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