RICHMOND, Va. — Tariffs are taxes. No one likes paying them, but if they are imposed to other countries on imported goods, the consumer at the end of day, especially at the grocery store, could be the ones stuck footing the bill.
"The prices are high. They are getting a lot higher and there is not a lot I can do about it," one grocery shopper told CBS 6.
CBS 6 spoke with VCU Supply Chain Management associate professor Brett Massimino about the Trump administration's proposed tariffs for Mexico and Canada. The tariffs have been paused for 30 days after both countries agreed to tougher border security measures.
"As it stands, it looks like we're going to get hit with some price increases in some certain areas," Massimino said.
Massimino said Virginians as well as all Americans can expect a bit more more pain in their pocketbooks when it comes to produce and home prices.
"Coming up from Canada, they are a big lumber supplier to the U.S., so already at a time when housing is difficult to get, one of the main components of a house, lumber, is going to be more expensive," Massimino said.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D) says consumers can also expect to be squeezed at pump and with energy bills.
"I think the energy tariff on Canada, a lot of Canadian energy comes to the United States, I think you're going to start to see energy price effects because of that 10% tariff," Kaine said.
The Senator says he an his colleagues will use legislative power available to challenge the Trump administration from burdening Canada and Mexico
"We have to use every opportunity we can to challenge the President's assertion that 'Oh, I'm the executive, I can bypass congress," Kaine said. "There's no such thing as a one-way trade war. You know, nobody every punishes the other side without there being a response."
In terms of long-term impacts of rising prices from tariffs, Massimino says it will ultimately comes down to negotiations with trading partners.
"It depends on how these country negotiations come and the governmental policies that all the other countries are trying to balance too," Massimino said.
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