Boating and House improvement businesses fear harm from tariffs on steel and aluminium

Aluminum prices climbed 18% in the US in the second quarter of 2018, after the tariffs were announced by Trump. The tariffs are expected to affect prices of a range of end use products from beer cans, to cars to building and construction products.

A local news update reported that the price of aluminium hurricane shutters is going up in in Northwest Florida.  Suppliers of aluminium shutters said their prices have already started to rise.

"At least the talk of the tariff has even accelerated the pricing," said Scott McCartney, the Vice President of First Choice Home Improvements. "Because you can't wait until the day the prices increase. You have to anticipate that in the industry at least 30 days in advance."

The company sells and installs hurricane shutters and windows and the supplier said customers could pay at least 20-percent more because of the tariff.

McCartney said as they are paying more for the metal the extra cost is then passed down through production, installation and eventually to the consumer. He said the tariff will impact the home improvement industry as a whole as aluminium is widely used today in home construction, décor and furniture.

"Not just in hurricane protection, but we do a lot of aluminium products such as screen rooms," McCartney added.

Missouri’s boating business could also suffer due to aluminium tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump's administration. U.S. Senator for Missouri, Claire McCaskill wrote Tuesday to a member of Trump's cabinet. Bass Pro, the leading shop for water sports and fishing expressed concern over cost increase of their range of products.

McCaskill's letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross highlighted White River Marine Group, a member of the Springfield-based Bass Pro Groups as one of the Missouri businesses hit by Trump's trade war. She criticised president's tough approach to trade as it has increased price for materials and also encouraged retaliatory tariffs by many countries.

"Within days, these companies were paying thousands of dollars in tariffs for necessary raw materials imported through their global supply chains," she wrote.

"Missouri manufacturers can only hope to be provided relief after they have paid for tariffs that the Administration has recklessly implemented," she added.

She wrote that less than two per cent of exclusion orders had been finalized this month and this rate is unacceptable for any business. The News-Leader asked in mid-June for a list of all Missouri businesses who have submitted an exclusion request for the steel and aluminium tariffs.

McCaskll's letter claims that Trump's tariffs and subsequent retaliation from Europe, Canada and Mexico will harm an industry linked to thousands of Missouri jobs. McCaskill's letter also highlighted other companies like CNC Machine Products, Silgan Containers who are facing threat to their business.

"I understand that the Administration is trying to save domestic steel and aluminium producers, and is responding to overcapacity caused by a few bad actors," McCaskill wrote. "However, steel and aluminium are complex industries with many varieties of products used by downstream manufacturers. The Administration's blanket steel and aluminium tariffs ... are a blunt instrument that harms Missouri manufacturers and encourages harmful retaliation…”