Centre County business leaders are sounding the alarm about the “immediate and significant” local impact of new tariffs and urging lawmakers to take action.
Tariffs implemented by the Trump administration, and the potential for new ones, are causing “strain” and “uncertainty” for local small businesses, Lee Anne Jeffries, executive director of the Downtown State College Improvement District, and Greg Scott, president and CEO of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, wrote in a May 13 letter to federal legislators.
“The rising costs of goods, raw materials, and equipment, driven by current tariffs and the threat of proposed ones, are creating serious challenges,” Jeffries and Scott wrote. “For businesses already operating on tight margins, these added expenses are simply not sustainable.”
DSCID and CBICC support reducing barriers to trade and opening new markets for American businesses, but Jeffries and Scott wrote that it is “vital to swiftly conclude these discussions and eliminate the recently imposed U.S. tariffs,” because of the harm to the national economy in general and Centre County businesses specifically.
Small businesses that do not have the capacity to absorb cost increases and supply chain disruptions are being forced to to reduce staff, raise prices and delay their plans for growth, according to the letter.
A recent survey of downtown State College businesses found freight costs have increased by 50% in the past year, while retail purchase prices have increased by 35% to 45%. Orders placed as far back as November at discounted rates are now being subjected to sudden price increases, according to Jeffries and Scott.
They say they’ve also found that economic uncertainty has led to more cautious spending and a greater reliance on high-interest credit lines.
“We respectfully urge federal legislators to evaluate and address the unintended consequences the tariffs are placing on small businesses,” they wrote. “The impacts of tariffs on our small businesses and local economy are immediate and significant.”
Jeffries and Scott called on the federal government to undertake several measures, including conducting an impact analysis of tariffs on small businesses at the local level, considering relief for key regional industries and supporting alternative strategies to bolster U.S. manufacturing without harming small businesses.
“We ask our elected officials to stand with Centre County’s small businesses and ensure that national trade policy supports local prosperity,” they wrote.
The impact of Trump’s tariffs have not yet shown much damage at the broader national level, with inflation cooling and hiring above projections for April and J.P. Morgan Chase analysts lowering the probability for a recession. But economists warn that may only be temporary. The tariffs are the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s, haven’t fully made their way through the system and unpredictable — announced one day, suspended the next and new ones implemented.
Retailers also rushed to import foreign products before tariffs took effect, and the rollout of some tariffs was delayed for several weeks.
“We had a good jobs report. We had a cool inflation report, and that’s great,” Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at Yale University’s Budget Lab, told the Associated Press. “But that should not give us comfort about what next month will be, particularly on inflation.’’
Tedeschi said it’s only a matter of time before tariffs translate to increased prices for consumers. Walmart, for example, has already raised prices on some goods and announced last week that sweeping increases are in the offing.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
