Local Manufacturers Expect Prices To Rise With Tariffs

Local Manufacturers Expect Prices To Rise With Tariffs

New federal tariffs on goods from China, Mexico and Canada could mean local manufacturing companies need to raise their prices.

“I think most [manufacturers] expect there’s going to be an impact, right?” said Steve Kalina, CEO of Brooklyn Park-based Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association. “It’s going to have a short-term effect at the very least that will cause prices to increase, cause some hesitation in purchasing.”

Kalina expects both domestic and international steel prices to rise in the short term, meaning some manufacturers will end up passing those higher prices on to consumers.

Many manufacturers are also feeling a sense of uncertainty, Kalina said.

“There’s this constant unknown right now of just, what decisions do you make?” he said. “Do you keep spinning up a facility, do you keep purchasing, do you shift gears, do you wait for the dust to settle, so just a lot of unknown for a little while here.”

Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are expected to go into effect in March.

Tariffs on Chinese goods went into effect in early February.

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SOURCE: CCX MEDIA