NJ product, industries most exposed to new tax
By: Daniel Munoz
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Tensions ramped up Tuesday [03/04/2025] among the U.S. and its three biggest trading partners - Canada, China and Mexico - after President Donald Trump delivered on his promise of sweeping levies on imports form those three countries.
.....
Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada were imposed at 12:01 AM. EST, along with a doubling of duties on some Chinese goods to 20%.
..... Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau said Ottawa would respond with immediate 25% tarries on $20.7 billion worth of U.S. imports and on another $86.2 billion if Trump;s tariffs were still in pace in 21 days. he said previously that Canada would target American beer, wine, bourbon, home appliances and Florida orange juice. china immateriality countered the U.S. with 10% to 15% tariffs on some U.S. agricultural products it imports.
..... Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, meanwhile, vowed retaliatory tariffs during a news conference in Mexico City on Tuesday. [03/04/2025]
..... The importing business, not the source country, pays the tariffs. They are applied as "taxes or duties levied on importers," according to investopedia, a consumer fiance website.
..... Tariffs would be paid by whoever is importing the foreign goods. They typically pass those casts on the the American consumer, said Parul Jain, who teaches fiancees at the Rutgers Business School in Newark. Other companies might also use the tariff-induced increases as a reason to raise their prices, Jain said.
..... Companies might absorb the costs rather than pas them onto consumers, but that could prompt them to pout off investments, such as additional hiring, expanding to a new location or the development on addition products, Jain said.
..... In
2022, exports from New Jersey supported 120,000 jobs, according to the federal Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives.
..... Tariffs are paid "at the time of customs clearance" in whatever port the goods are moving through, according to the International Trade Administration, which is part of the U.S. Commerce Department.
..... That would mean duties on products coming into the U.S. through New Jersey would be paid at the Ports of Elizabeth and Newark.
..... Tariffs can be used to try to compel a trading partner to behave a certain way. Trump previous used tariffs to that end to some success with Colombia, to ensure the South American nation's acceptance of U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants.
..... On Monday, [03/03/2025] the president declared that Mexico, Canada and China had failed to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the U.S. The other three-countries disputed that judgment.
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"While President Trump has announced that tariffs are officially in place, past negotiation with Mexico and Canada have shown how quickly these policies can shift," said Jessica Calwell, head of insights at automotive research site Edmunds.
Will traffics bring manufacturing back to the U.S.?
..... Trump is also hoping that companies would find it cheaper to manufacture products in the United States, said Jain, the Rutgers professor.
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That's possibler. In an editorial board meeting with The Record and NorthJersey.com in January, [2025] Governor Phil Murphy said he's heard form some businesses that are considering building up some operations in the U.S. to avoid the levies.
..... But such a process can take years, and some goods such as coffee, cocoa beans and avocados, simply can't be produced domestically at high volume.
..... New Jersey exports $8.8 billion of goods to Canada annually, according to the Canadian Consulate General in New York. That's about equal to the amount America imports form the country.
..... Top Garden State exports to our neighbor to the north include: * Pearls, gems, precious metals and jewelry.
* Perfumes, essential oils and toiletries.
* Fuel oil.
* Organic chemicals.
* Computers.
* Optical, medical and precisions instruments.
*
Fruits and nuts.
* Prepared vegetables.
..... New Jersey exports $2.2 billion of goods annually to China, according to the U.S.-China Business Council, while China sends $13.6 billion in imports back according to the Chinese Consulate General in New York.
..... These are the top exports from New Jersey to China.
* Nonferrous metal products, such as pipes, roofing, gutters, signs and electrical components
* Soaps, cleaning agents and solitaries.
* Basic chemicals.
* Navigational and measuring instruments
* Medical equipment and supplies
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New Jersey exports roughly $3.3 billion of goods to Mexico in 2023, according to the national foreign ministry, compared to $7.6 billion in imports.
..... these are the top exports on that list:
* Basic chemicals.
* Navigational, medical and control instruments.
* Soaps and cleaning supplies.
* Resin and plastics, synthetic rubber, artificial and synthetic fibers and filaments.
* Nonelectrical equipment and components.
NJ warehousing, logistics industries could be impacted
..... New Jersey is home to a sprawling warehouse, trucking and supply chain logistics industry given its proximity to major ports, and its :economy does rely on the movement of goods to and through our state," said Christopher Emighoiz, who heads government affairs for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, a trade group.
..... Tariffs could drag down the quantities of imports and exports passing through the ports, which in turn could push done port activity and hit related logistics and warehouse business, added Tim Evens, research director of the policy advocacy group New Jersey Future.
..... "People stop buying as much imported stuff, you can definitely see a drop-off in the need to unpack it," Evens said. "That would cause a drop in demand: for warehouses and "if they experience a sudden drop in demand, that affects New Jersey.
..... This article contains information from USA Today.