President Trump’s tariffs have sent the stock market spiraling and shockwaves through the American economy, affecting farmers, autoworkers and small business owners.
“I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’ve been farming for 42 years,” said John Boyd Jr., a fourth-generation farmer in Virginia and president of the National Black Farmers Association.
He said the price of corn, wheat and soybeans — controlled by the markets — have all tanked, impacting the farmers’ bottom line. On Friday, China announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% on all U.S. goods starting Thursday, which will make U.S.-grown crops more expensive. Another trading partner, the EU, has vowed to retaliate as well if Mr. Trump’s tariffs go into effect next week as planned.
“Other countries are going to start to look for different places to start to buy soybeans and corn and wheat. Brazil is right behind us in production,” he said.
Mr. Trump insists that these actions are his way of standing up for farmers and ranchers. Other nations such as Japan, China and India have charged higher tariffs than the U.S. for importing American farm goods.
However, Boyd said, farmers are the ones who will be hurt: “I think it’s a very sad situation that farmers are the ones who helped put him into office, and we are the ones who are taking the hit.”
Outside the White House on Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins took questions from reporters about Mr. Trump’s tariffs. “For our farmers and our ranchers, they understand that there may be a short time of uncertainty,” Rollins said when asked about complaints about the tariffs.
Boyd fears that uncertainty may be here to stay.
“I think it’s going to be long-term pain for America’s farmers and to buckle up and get ready for the ride,” he said.
Rollins also said the Trump administration is preparing programs to address potential economic consequences. During Mr. Trump’s first term, farmers received about $23 billion worth of bailouts after tariffs led to financial losses. Still, even if there is relief, Boyd said many farmers are worried they’re going to have to shut down their farms — himself included.
Meanwhile, an American shrimp industry group hailed Mr. Trump’s actions. The Florida-based Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents people in the shrimp industry from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, said over 90% of all U.S. shrimp and seafood is imported from overseas, with the top three shrimp suppliers being India, Ecuador and Indonesia.
Leann Bosarge, a member of the group’s board of directorstold CBS News the U.S. domestic shrimp industry is made up of small, multigenerational fishing family businesses.
“So for the last two decades, those small businesses have actually been trying to combat the unfair trade on a global scale, if you can imagine how daunting a task that is,” Bosarge said. “… Our industry finally felt like we had recognition from, yes, the top, the U.S. president, but also policymakers and trade representatives that this unfair trade does in fact exist, that we have been fighting it, that we need help and that it’s time for change.”
American business owners who import products from China will also feel the effects of the tariffs. David Mauro, founder of plush toy business Jesusdoll.com, told CBS News he’s been relying on a Chinese manufacturer since he started his business three years ago.
“When we started, making toys in America, you know, that didn’t exist, that industry does not exist here … so we had no other option than to look overseas,” Mauro said.
He expects to pay about $38,000 in tariffs for a shipment of about $60,000 in goods that’s en route from China to the U.S.
“That’s tough for a small business to do, that’s tough for an individual to do,” Mauro told CBS News. “That hurts, right? So, you know, we’re going to have to take out a loan, maybe, you know, dip into our child’s college education, but we’ve got to get that money back, so we’ll have to raise prices, we’ll have to pass that along, and, you know, when you raise prices, you don’t sell as much.”
In Michigan, Mira Zeigler-Moore has worked on the line at Stellantis — the company behind Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and other car brands — for more than six years and is a member of the United Auto Workers union.
“I take so much pride in being able to make these vehicles,” Zeigler-Moore said.
She’s currently on medical leave, and in an earlier round of layoffs, learned she would be losing her job at the end of the month.
“It hurt, it hurt,” Zeigler-Moore said. “… But I have to pay bills, you know, I have to have a place to live.”
She’s had hip and joint replacements and is a breast cancer survivor.
And now with Mr. Trump’s 25% tariff on imported cars and parts in effect, additional layoffs are coming.
In a memo to North American employees, Stellantis announced the company is “continuing to assess the medium- and long-term effects of these tariffs.”
The automaker is temporarily laying off 900 employees at five U.S. factories in the Midwest as a result of pausing production at some of its Canadian and Mexican plants.
At the Motor City Sports Bar and Grill, the watering hole for one of those American plants, Warren Stamping, plant worker Howard P. Watson expressed concerns about tariffs raising the prices of other things even if they may be ultimately good for the auto industry.
“It’s going to affect a lot of the small people,” he said.
In a statement, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain took aim at the cuts, saying, “Stellantis continues to play games with workers’ lives.”
While Fain hasn’t always been supportive of Mr. Trump, the union chief backs his tariff plan, saying it’s a step to end the ‘free trade’ disaster.”
Megan Cerullo and
contributed to this report.
