New Tariffs Could Have Both Negative And Positive Impacts For NH

CONCORD, NH — Experts predict the prices of some products could increase for New Hampshire consumers due to retaliatory tariffs President Donald Trump imposed Saturday on three key trading partners — Mexico, Canada, and China, while raising more tax revenue, spurring domestic production and sales, and reducing America’s trade deficit.

The tariffs, initially scheduled to take effect at midnight Tuesday, impose an additional 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada, with a lower 10 percent charge on oil, natural gas, electricity, and energy products. The tariff on products imported from Mexico is across the board, and China faces an additional 10 percent tariff.

Trump imposed the tariffs without congressional approval and acknowledged the perilous chance of “some pain” in higher inflation, job losses, and worse growth.

Vice President JD Vance, while making the rounds of the Sunday morning talk shows, said the countries had “already been taking advantage” of the United States for decades while not enforcing immigration laws and allowing human trafficking and fentanyl to flood over the border.

“If they want to be a better partner to us,” he said, “the time starts now.”

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in 2022, the U.S. ran a $162 billion trade deficit with Mexico and $80 billion with China. The trade deficit with China was around $270 billion.

Vance noted China had been stealing intellectual property from American companies and had allowed the flight of millions of low-skill, decent-wage manufacturing jobs from the United States to its factories.

Early Monday, after a call with Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the tariffs would be paused for a month after she agreed to send 10,000 national guard troops to the border to stop the flow of drugs coming into the United States. Trump said on Truth Social, the call was a “very friendly conversation.”

If U.S. businesses decide to pass the retaliatory taxes to consumers, the effects of the tariffs could be felt by consumers who purchase imported products in New Hampshire within a couple of weeks.

The developments Monday put on hold, at least for now, the high prices on avocados, strawberries, tomatoes, and other fruit and vegetables imported from Mexico. If the tariffs take effect, beer and tequila will also cost more. At the same time, consumers can avoid the tariffs by purchasing American-grown avocados, strawberries, tomatoes, and other fruit and vegetables, as well as beer and other liquor products. According to the USDA, in 2023, almost three-quarters of the agricultural imports into the United States for Mexico consisted of vegetables, fruit, beverages, and distilled spirits.

About 70 percent of the global supply of maple syrup comes from Canada, and about 60 percent of its exports went to the United States in 2023. This could, however, be a boon for domestically produced maple syrup in New Hampshire and Vermont, putting them on equal footing since they tend to be more expensive than imported syrup due to higher employment costs.

Granite Staters could also pay higher prices for cars. Automakers ship tens of billions of dollars worth of automobiles, engines, transmissions, and other components across the borders of Mexico and Canada every week and import billions more in parts from China. General Motors produces nearly 40 percent of all vehicles made in North America in Canada and Mexico.

Gas prices could go up, too. The United States imports about 60 percent of its oil from Canada. The tariff is lower than on other goods from Canada, and analysts expect it to be absorbed by a combination of oil producers in Canada and Mexico, U.S. refineries and U.S. consumers, The New York Times reported. Oil refiners said they would look to both domestic production of oil as well as Latin America and the Middle East as alternatives, presuming the tariffs raise prices.

Goods from China, especially computers, cell phones, and video games, could become more expensive over the next couple of months. The United States imports about 60 percent of its footwear from China, and those prices could also go up. The increase may seem insignificant to consumers if retailers and companies absorb the tariffs since products like sneakers are produced so inexpensively overseas, and the tariff is on the product’s wholesale price and not the product’s retail price.

Tariffs on lumber and building supplies from Canada could increase the cost of building a house, worsening the housing affordability crisis. According to the National Association of Home Builders, about 70 percent of the softwood lumber and gypsum used for drywall are imported from Canada and Mexico. However, the increased import price will make lumber products from New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont more palatable for builders. All three states have seen dozens of mills close in the past decades due to cheaper wood imports from Canada.

Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare an economic emergency in the executive orders and implement his tariffs.

There are more than three dozen active emergencies, including measures taken to respond to the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, human rights violations in Venezuela, nuclear weapon development in North Korea, and multiple actions taken by China and Russia.

The law enables a president to freeze and block transactions in response to "unusual and extraordinary" threats outside the United States.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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