CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Effects of tariffs from Canada are already being seen in the Charlotte area.
Matt Stone with the Stone Realty Group told Queen City News on Monday that a project involving his team had been put on hold because of the uncertainty surrounding construction supplies. The uncertainty could result in some fluctuations in prices for new home construction or home renovations, and could in turn impact home prices.
President Donald Trump on Saturday signed off on 25 percent tariffs on both Mexico and Canada. But hours after delaying them for Mexico, the ones for the U.S.’ neighbors to the North also were paused Monday after reaching a deal with President Justin Trudeau.
“If you don’t know what your final costs are going to be, it’s going to be really difficult to start pre-selling stuff when your input costs could be going up 25 percent,” Stone said.
UNC Charlotte economics professor Dr. John Connaughton noted the immediate effects may not be 25% increase total for goods. He noted any price increases would only affect the specific goods coming from Canada. His belief that Canada needs access to the American market and that they will eventually “come around.”
“The big mistake in all of this has been a number of people, both in this country, but also in Canada, and to a lesser extent in Mexico, have viewed this as an economic issue,” said Connaughton. “It is about international diplomacy.”
Queen City News did reach out to several organizations for any potential impacts on food prices. FMI, The Food Industry Association, provided the following statement:
“FMI and our member companies stand ready to work with the Trump administration to help reduce inflationary regulations and improve the buying power of American consumers. American consumers value local farmers and local food products, but also availability of products 12 months of the year, which requires imports of food products. With 1.6% retail and 7.5% food manufacturing net margins, tariffs will put incredible pressure on our members. New tariffs will also drive up the cost of doing business and food prices at a time consumers are extremely concerned about prices.”
