President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs earlier this week, and some are set to take effect just after midnight on April 5, but that doesn鈥檛 mean U.S. consumers will feel the impact right away.Joshua Smith is an associate professor at Trevecca Nazarene University with a Ph.D. in economics and advises undergraduate international business students.He said the effects of the tariffs will not be felt in the first few weeks, but U.S. consumers will start to see an increase in costs in a month or two, especially for perishable goods like raw fruits, vegetables and meat. Processed foods, like beef jerky, are expected to rise in costs a few months from now.鈥淢eat prices might go up in beef jerky, and that might take a few months from now because it needs to be processed in the plant and moved through,鈥� said Smith. But what about car prices? Smith said price increases shouldn鈥檛 be as noticeable in the near term because manufacturers and dealers have likely increased their inventory. Once they run out of parts in a few months, Smith predicts a sharp rise.鈥淎 lot of their imported products, like the engine components and the tires and the wheels 鈥� those are going to come at an increased cost, and it affects the car manufacturers now, but it will be maybe months or even years down the road,鈥� said Smith.When it comes to the service industry, Smith explained that tariffs won't directly raise labor costs. For instance, the cost of ingredients needed to bake a cake 鈥� like eggs and flour 鈥� will likely increase because of tariffs. But because a large portion of a cake's price comes from labor cost, consumers may not notice the tariff impact as much. Smith also noted that many U.S. imports are not direct consumer products but intermediate goods used in the production of other items. These include products like lumber from Canada, needed for building houses, and electronic components such as microchips manufactured abroad. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to take a really long time to pass through because how long does it take to build a house with lumber? That might be a year, even longer, by the time the ordering goes through, and so it could affect things like the housing market,鈥� said Smith.U.S. producers, facing higher costs for these parts, are likely to pass those costs on to consumers, as has been done in the past, according to Smith. When it does, he said, it could significantly affect the housing market and electronics industry.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs earlier this week, and some are set to take effect just after midnight on April 5, but that doesn鈥檛 mean U.S. consumers will feel the impact right away.
Joshua Smith is an associate professor at Trevecca Nazarene University with a Ph.D. in economics and advises undergraduate international business students.
He said the effects of the tariffs will not be felt in the first few weeks, but U.S. consumers will start to see an increase in costs in a month or two, especially for perishable goods like raw fruits, vegetables and meat.
Processed foods, like beef jerky, are expected to rise in costs a few months from now.
鈥淢eat prices might go up in beef jerky, and that might take a few months from now because it needs to be processed in the plant and moved through,鈥� said Smith.
But what about car prices? Smith said price increases shouldn鈥檛 be as noticeable in the near term because manufacturers and dealers have likely increased their inventory. Once they run out of parts in a few months, Smith predicts a sharp rise.
鈥淎 lot of their imported products, like the engine components and the tires and the wheels 鈥� those are going to come at an increased cost, and it affects the car manufacturers now, but it will be maybe months or even years down the road,鈥� said Smith.
When it comes to the service industry, Smith explained that tariffs won't directly raise labor costs. For instance, the cost of ingredients needed to bake a cake 鈥� like eggs and flour 鈥� will likely increase because of tariffs. But because a large portion of a cake's price comes from labor cost, consumers may not notice the tariff impact as much.
Smith also noted that many U.S. imports are not direct consumer products but intermediate goods used in the production of other items. These include products like lumber from Canada, needed for building houses, and electronic components such as microchips manufactured abroad.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to take a really long time to pass through because how long does it take to build a house with lumber? That might be a year, even longer, by the time the ordering goes through, and so it could affect things like the housing market,鈥� said Smith.
U.S. producers, facing higher costs for these parts, are likely to pass those costs on to consumers, as has been done in the past, according to Smith. When it does, he said, it could significantly affect the housing market and electronics industry.
