Michigan retailers have a global reach, sourcing products and serving customers around the world. An MRA tariff impact survey conducted in May found that a majority of respondents import at least some goods from other countries. Canada, Mexico, and China were the most cited, with over 20 other countries also represented.
In this international landscape, Michigan retailers deserve a sensible, consistent trade policy. Instead, they have a roller coaster.
Since January, tariffs on imports to the United States have been announced, paused, re-announced, and withdrawn, sometimes in the span of a single news cycle. According to our survey data, this haphazard approach is harmful to the very industries the tariffs were supposed to help.
Michigan business owners must make long-term decisions, planning quarters or seasons ahead and stocking products accordingly. Now those decisions must be made amidst a trade policy that changes by the day. Occasionally cooler heads have prevailed; some of the most extreme policies announced in the first week of April were reversed a week later amidst economic pressure.
Unfortunately, the damage was already done, even when the tariff roller coaster was cruising in the right direction, the message received by Michigan businesses and consumers was plain: all of this could change again tomorrow.
In our tariff impact survey, 69% of respondents reported that tariffs and the threat of tariffs will negatively impact their businesses in the next three to six months, with only 6% expecting a positive impact.
It’s clear that our members want stability. A roller coaster of uncertainty isn’t good for business.
Andrew Beardslee
Vice President, Government Affairs
Michigan Retailers Association
