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…Adding… Chicagoland Chamber…
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce released the following statement regarding global tariffs announced this week.
“The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is passionate about expanding economic growth, opportunity, and jobs for all our communities here in Illinois and across the nation. Imposing blanket tariffs only serves to increase costs for businesses of all sizes and industries, raise the price of everyday goods for families, and disrupt the supply chain and the ability for our companies to plan for the future. Rather than imposing broad tariffs, we encourage elected officials to focus on policies that promote growth, create common sense regulations, and strengthen our skilled and dynamic workforce. Chicagoland’s business community is proud to be among the leading trade partners around the globe and we stand ready to work with elected officials to find real solutions that build on our successes and continue to drive innovation, growth, and resiliency for decades to come,” said Jack Lavin, President and CEO of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
Nothing from the Illinois Chamber in my inbox.
…Adding… From IRMA…
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) released the following statement regarding tariffs announced this week by the White House:
“Illinois retailers source goods from a wide variety of suppliers across the globe to provide consumers with the product variety and quality they desire at competitive prices. Higher tariffs will increase the cost of these products, including everyday items like clothing and food, which will ultimately be paid by shoppers in the form of higher prices and fewer choices,” said Rob Karr, President & CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “Consumers and retailers alike are already stretched thin following years of inflation. We encourage policymakers to focus on ways to provide relief to working families and businesses seeking to grow investments in our communities.”
* From the IMA…
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) released the following statement regarding new global tariffs announced [yesterday]:
“Our state’s economic strength relies on manufacturing, which creates jobs, drives innovation and welcomes widespread investment. The new tariffs announced today will increase the cost of manufacturing products in America, threatening competitiveness and resulting in even higher prices for consumers. The impacts of these tariffs will be felt greatly throughout Illinois, which is the fourth largest exporter in the United States,” said Mark Denzler, President & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Rather than across-the-board tariffs, this tool should be used selectively to target countries that are cheating by dumping products, stealing intellectual property, or otherwise not following the rules. Businesses need stability and predictability. Manufacturers encourage the President and Congress to focus on comprehensive growth policies, including federal tax relief, regulatory and permitting reform, unleashing our nation’s energy advantage, and building a skilled workforce. We remain committed to working in partnership with our member companies and federal officials to hold bad actors accountable while also allowing for manufacturing to flourish in Illinois and across the United States.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement on the tariffs announced by President Trump on Wednesday afternoon:
“Donald Trump may want to call this ‘Liberation Day,’ but there is nothing liberating for working families who are grappling with the high costs of food, housing, and utilities.
Tariffs are a tax. They are a tax on working families, a tax on groceries, and a tax on other everyday necessities. Instead of doing anything meaningful to lower prices for Americans, the Trump Tax on Working Families is an extreme escalation against our closest allies that will raise prices just to give Elon Musk and his wealthiest friends a tax break.”
* US Reps. Miller and LaHood…
America will no longer be taken advantage of!
This is how you put America First. 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/rBrPicvor2
— Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) April 2, 2025
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will bring tremendous opportunity to the US and allow us to showcase our country to millions around the world. An event of this size requires detailed coordination between federal, state, and local agencies to ensure success and safety.@POTUS' White…
— Darin LaHood (@RepLaHood) April 2, 2025
* From a writer for the Atlantic…
Just figured out where these fake tariff rates come from. They didn't actually calculate tariff rates + non-tariff barriers, as they say they did. Instead, for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us.
So we… https://t.co/PBjF8xmcuv
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) April 2, 2025
That’s been confirmed.
* Reason magazine senior editor Jacob Sullum…
The White House claims tariffs “do not raise prices” yet somehow “create new incentives for U.S. consumers to buy U.S.-made products.” […]
Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, estimates that “tariffs are going to raise about $600 billion a year, about $6 trillion over a 10-year period.” As Reason’s Eric Boehm notes, that would amount to “the biggest peacetime tax increase in American history.”
It is still not enough to eliminate the $2 trillion annual budget deficit, let alone make a dent in the national debt, especially since Navarro says the tariff revenue will be needed to cover the cost of extending the income tax cuts Congress approved in 2017.
* Related…
* Tribune | In Mexico, Gov. JB Pritzker positions Illinois as a ‘stable and reliable trade partner’ amid Trump tariffs: Pritzker’s update on the trade mission comes the same day Trump announced a baseline tax of 10% on imports from every country and higher tariff rates on a number of nations running trade surpluses with the U.S., according to The Associated Press. The move, according to the news agency, could lead to trade wars and threatens to aggravate the global economy. The governor, an outspoken foe of Trump, reiterated his stance that tariffs are “really a tax on working families” and that they’re not good for the economy and may lead to a recession in the U.S.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:00 am
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You don’t have to have a Nobel Prize in Economics to understand increasing unemployment, decreased government spending, and increasing consumer prices as not a good mix from a macroeconomic perspective.
Comment by jolietj Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:10 am
Another policy based on a run amok spreadsheet brigade…. no doubt they thought that the Heard and McDonald Islands were where Big Macs come from
Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:11 am
New bumper sticker: Honk if you know Tariff is a Tax
Comment by Norseman Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:20 am
I don’t have a degree in economics or anything, but sounds like this is equivalent to one of the greatest tax hikes in American history.
Comment by Westsider Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:21 am
Don’t you know that the penguins are exporting used tuxedos.
Comment by very old soil Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:22 am
Two thoughts: A tariff can be enacted with the stroke of a pen. The pain felt by consumers will happen fairly quickly as importers begin to pass those costs on to consumers within weeks. However, the act of building new manufacturing in the US is a much longer process. A fast-tracked project landing on a shovel-ready site will still take 2-3 years to build and come online. Therefore, consumers in the US will be bearing the brunt of these decisions for years before the supposed benefit of new manufacturing development and job creation can take place.
Second point - the repeated start-stop tariff actions taken by this administration so far are not creating the environment of certainty and stability that is required to get businesses to make major investment decisions. Also, given that Trump’s tariff regime is being implemented unilaterally and not as a broad bi-partisan push to remake US trade relations, companies may very well attempt to wait out this period under the belief that a future democratic administration will simply reverse course.
Comment by sulla Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:22 am
Time for other Illinois GOP leaders to step up and tell us if you support your president.
Looking at you Kathy Salvi, John Curran and Tony McCombie.
Are you all in or are you RINOs?
Comment by Moe Berg Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:23 am
If a great thinker like Mary Miller says it is OK, it must be fine.
Comment by Um, no Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:27 am
Gotta wonder what kind of lamb’s blood Belarus and Russia put on their doorframe to get passed over by the Angel of Debt
Comment by Shark Sandwich Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:28 am
==The White House claims tariffs “do not raise prices”==
I think it’s funny that a number of Donald Trump supporters don’t understand that tariffs are actually a tax on them. They buy into the nonsense coming out of the White House hook, line and sinker that the country sending the goods pays the tariffs. Donald Trump is starting a trade war and it’s going to severely damage multiple economies around the world, including ours. And the Secretary of the Treasury tells countries that we just slapped tariffs on to “take a deep breath” and not retaliate? Yeah, they are just going to sit back and take it. Not. Donald Trump is the worst thing that could have ever happened to this country.
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:32 am
“no doubt they thought that the Heard and McDonald Islands were where Big Macs come from”
If that were the case then wouldn’t they have been the only nation with a negative tariff?
Comment by Independent Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:35 am
The recurrent message to the rest of the world is “It doesn’t matter whether it is trade, treaties, immigration, or national sovereignty you are one election away from the United States reversing every promise that was ever made.”
Comment by OutHereInTheMiddle Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:37 am
The market does not like it, down over 3% so far today. It is frustrating when you are trying to build a life for yourself and have to navigate this absurdity.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:38 am
Someone was daydreaming during class at Wharton.
Comment by Big Dipper Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:44 am
Well, let’s see if he folds again. A lot of his crew somehow still does believe, other countries are going to not retaliate and “make a deal” with the US. When they learn they’re wrong and the screaming really begins, he’s not immune to public opinion. What worries me is that Plan B is he starts trying to roll back these tariffs using some kind of internal spreadsheet of how loyal / subservient each economic sector seems to him.
Comment by ZC Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:48 am
Tariffs decrease supply. Lowered supply means higher prices. A whole lot of people failed Macroeconomics 101 in November.
Comment by Bob Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 9:57 am
You mean they lied when rolling out the tariff program? Who could have seen that coming…
Comment by Lincoln Lad Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:02 am
=Therefore, consumers in the US will be bearing the brunt of these decisions for years before the supposed benefit of new manufacturing development and job creation can take place.=
And with the US being 4% of the global population. One might wonder how eager multinational companies might just be to place a factory here. Sure you can build here to avoid tariffs on shoes or whatever, but what about selling to rest of the 96%?
Comment by Cool Papa Bell Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:13 am
But we were told he’s a great businessman. So smart to not just raise prices but damage American global friendships and cause boycotts of US products.
Usually recessions come at the end of Republican presidencies. There is an entire term left. And right wing business types think unions are the enemy?
Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:14 am
Time for Congress to take back the Tariffs and War Powers.
Comment by Jerry Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:18 am
==However, the act of building new manufacturing in the US is a much longer process. A fast-tracked project landing on a shovel-ready site will still take 2-3 years to build and come online.==
Sulla is right on target. And what about skilled tool and die makers and mechanical engineers and other necessary trades? With the dearth of U.S. manufacturing in the past 40 years, where would all those trained people come from?
In the 70s and 80s when U.S. companies outsourced their manufacturing to India and China to avoid high labor costs and benefits, they also removed billions of dollars in income taxes those highly-paid U.S. factory workers kicked in.
I watched the Vitro Glass plant in Streator and Maytag plant in Galesburg move to Mexico for nonunion labor costs.
Ironic that the low and middle income folks who voted for Trump will be hit hardest by these new tariff-taxes.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:20 am
Trump currently has 6 bankruptcies on his books. If this fails, can we count it as his 7th? /s
My disappointment is mostly in the lack of understanding of what is needed to bring manufacturing from one place to another and no help/support to do it. Of course, we’ll see plenty of local municipalities offering all kinds of giveaways to any corporation saying they are building a new factory in the US
Comment by Lurker Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:25 am
I just want to say thanks to to orange dear leader for tanking my retirement accounts and increasing my costs of living. I know the short term pain of a global recession is necessary for the long term growth of US manufacturing. /s
Comment by Huh? Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:28 am
–
companies may very well attempt to wait out this period
–
That’s not the most concerning failure mode.
Countries creating new trading blocks excluding the US, is the more concerning and likely outcome.
China has a larger middle class to sell into, than the entire population of the US. Under normal conditions, China was expected to surpass the size of the US economy between 2030 and 2035. That was only 5 years away, under normal circumstances. The US just moved that timeline up. Marketwise, the sentiment is the US is the biggest loser in the policies the US announced.
The vast majority of manufacturing jobs which have gone away, are due to automation and not offshoring. There’s nothing of significance to come back no matter what the tariff situation is.
It’s just a backdoor way to shift the US to a flat/consumption tax.
Great for the rich, bad for the poor.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:32 am
The assumption that the tariffs will bring restore manufacturing to the US is misguided. As others have noted, manufacturers have gone overseas for lower cost wages. They have made the calculation that it is cheaper to manufacture and ship overseas than to build things in the US.
Furthermore, there is a deficit of skilled labor in the US. Many young people are more inclined to go into white collar jobs than blue collar jobs.
As others have noted, it takes time to build a manufacturing plant. I view the recent announcements of multi-billion dollar investment as another Foxconn mess, with the emphasis on “con”.
Comment by Huh? Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:38 am
===And what about skilled tool and die makers and mechanical engineers and other necessary trades? With the dearth of U.S. manufacturing in the past 40 years, where would all those trained people come from?
This is why CHIPs is working is that it requires partnerships with the trades and community & tech colleges, but those pathways take time just as building factories does. There’s a place for industrial policy especially in advanced manufacturing, but tariffs don’t fix any of the issues.
Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:44 am
Why the hell is Darin LaHood opining about the FIFA world cup? Chicago isn’t even a host city for it and obviously nowhere in his district is.
This feels as out of touch as Aaron Schock’s Downton Abbey sitting room.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:56 am
If you view these Trump tariffs through the economic lens, you are missing the forest for the trees. It’s not about economics. It’s about consolidating power in one person’s hands.
https://politicalwire.com/2025/04/03/trumps-tariffs-arent-about-economics-theyre-about-power/
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 10:59 am
=A fast-tracked project landing on a shovel-ready site will still take 2-3 years to build and come online.=
That’s likely optimistic as it assumes that the supply chains for raw materials exist today in the US. It’s more likely a 5-10 year horizon if it’s even feasible. And given the adoption of AI and automation it likely probably translate to meaningful jobs. The whole effort is reckless and misguided.
Comment by Pundent Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 11:02 am
- you are missing the forest for the trees. -
I feel like screaming this every time someone describes his actions as illegal, unconstitutional, unpopular, etc. It does not matter, there is no one stopping him and he’s not worried about re-election. He is taking power, right now, and there is no plan to stop him.
Comment by Excitable Boy Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 12:33 pm
Going off LaHood’s tweet, I’m already dreading the cluster(banned word) that’ll happen when hundreds of thousands (possibly millions?) of tourists from around the world try and visit the United States next summer for the tournament. Along with those from potential travel ban countries, there’ll be a whole lot of visitors from countries with some ill will toward the current administration.
Comment by TreeFiddy Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 12:34 pm
@TreeFiddy - Not to mention that the US is jointly hosting the tournament with our now “enemy” nations of Canada and Mexico City
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 12:46 pm
Just when you thought you were Taxed Enough Already, the TEA Party delivers the biggest increase in taxes on the working class and middle class
What a bunch of gullible rubes.
Comment by Candy Dogood Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 12:46 pm
I hardly look at any national/international news anymore. At my age the stress it creates may kill me. Maybe that’s part of the plan.
Comment by Siualum Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 1:29 pm
Surely the market was due for a correction. lol
Comment by PoliticsD Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 1:29 pm
don’t mess up World Cup, DOGE.
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 1:46 pm
For most people, hard financial times are going to get worse.
Comment by Dupage Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 1:54 pm
What percentage of IMA members voted for this policy?
Comment by halving_fun Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 2:39 pm
Seems the policy may have been created by ChatGPT:
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/critics-suspect-trumps-weird-tariff-math-came-from-chatbots/
Comment by Former Downstater Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 3:07 pm
Gee, where are all the Mary Miller/Pres. Felon supports glorifying this economic grand slam? s/
Comment by old man Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 3:33 pm
All due respect, the IMA got what they voted for, and hard. He said repeatedly what he was going to do. If they didn’t believe him, whose fault is that?
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 4:20 pm
“don’t mess up World Cup”
Too late.
Comment by Huh? Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 4:44 pm
- Nothing from the Illinois Chamber in my inbox. -
Hang in there, Rich, I’m sure it’s on the way.
Comment by Excitable Boy Thursday, Apr 3, 25 @ 5:46 pm