Area businesses discuss impacts of imposing tariffs

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — President Donald Trump has now imposed new tariffs on all goods imported from Canada, Mexico and China, saying drug trafficking - especially fentanyl - is one of the reasons.

In response, those countries have announced their own retaliatory measures.

Idaho State University Economics Professor Karl Geisler said tariffs are generally used to encourage people to buy domestic products and encourage businesses to move their operations. It also helps domestic businesses from being undercut by foreign goods.

While the cost can get pushed onto the business or the manufacturer, it often gets pushed onto people buying the products.

“It could be that the importer adds on 25% when they go to sell it to the consumer,” Geisler said.

Some of the goods these tariffs will impact include food, electronics, automobiles, as well as car parts.

Logan Summers, the owner of The Automotive Shop said he’s concerned because the tariffs could lead to price increases on many common automobile parts, as many are manufactured in Mexico and Canada.

“A lot of parts like alternators, hoses, belts, even just plastic fittings and stuff,” Summers said.

NPW Keyline Location Manager Dana Thomas said domestic manufacturing parts won’t be impacted as much, but a lot of the cheaper items will definitely see a price increase.

“Especially for what they call like house brand, so just the generic-branded parts such as filters, you know, such as Parts Master, other auto parts manufacturers that source heavily from China,” Thomas said.

Thomas added that can include brake pads as well.

When it comes to when we could see prices increases, it depends on the product.

Geisler said things like car parts could take time if shops are stocked up. Then it could take months before consumers see an effect. But perishable items like fruits and vegetables will likely see price hikes sooner.

“If you think about produce and anything that we are importing from Mexico for produce, you just can’t keep a bunch of strawberries for months and months, they are gonna go bad in a week or two. So when we start looking at things that are more perishable, we’re gonna start to feel those impacts much more quickly,” Geisler said.

Geisler added tariffs on materials, like oil or steel, that are used in making products can also cause ripples on the prices as well.

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