
INDIANAPOLIS — The tariffs President Donald Trump ordered on Mexico and Canada are paused for now, but the 10% price hike on Chinese imports started at midnight Tuesday. Already, China is retaliating with tariffs of its own. So what does all of this mean for us in Indiana? There are potential impacts on Hoosier businesses, farmers and consumers.
Most Indiana-grown soybeans on Brian Warpup's farm in Huntington, leave the United States — and most go to China. Some of his farm equipment has parts made in China. So new tariffs and a trade war? He's paying close attention.
"It's always on our radar. It's something I check daily, if not hourly," Warpup said. So far, his crops are not affected.
But machinery used for agriculture could be costlier soon. China is imposing its own tariffs on the U.S.
for natural gas, trucks and farm equipment. "It just all depends on what company — where they manufacture everything," Warpup said. A lot of items we all buy could get more expensive.
Everything from medications and groceries to video games and clothes you order online. "Clothing, household items like small appliances, consumer electronics, your iPhone or Android smartphone, building supplies that go into houses," said Purdue University economics professor David Hummels. "Auto equipment, electronics, raw materials," added Andrew Berger, president and CEO of the Indiana Manufacturers Association.
Indiana manufacturers that do business with China, or use parts made in China, are bracing for impact, too. "You know somebody's gonna have to bear that cost,"Berger said. "And it's either gonna be two things — it's either going to have to make the manufacturer of that good here in the U.
S. or here in Indiana more expensive so we lose some competitiveness in an economic basis or the cost is gonna be passed along to the consumer." Economists say the Chinese tariffs could impact Indiana's medical supply companies and biotech firms.
But Hummels said for Hoosier businesses, unknowns in a trade war are almost more damaging. "If I'm a business leader, so I pull the trigger on this investment, or do I wait 'til this shakes out?" he said. "So that kind of uncertainty about what the competitive landscape looks like can really paralyze firms.
" Back on the farm, Warpup's watching for updates on tariffs with China, hoping they don't impact his bottom line. "It seems like it changes all the time," he said..