The conversation of Donald Trump to apply new tariffs to the goods from the largest American trade partners has caused months of uncertainty for the owners of the company.
On Saturday, the President did good on his threats, ordering a new tax on 25% to shipments from Mexico and Canada and raising existing goods to goods from China by 10%.
But that didn’t stop the questions.
“Is that one day, is it politically flexible or will it take four years?” asked Nicolas Palazzi, founder of PM Spirits based in Brooklyn. He runs a job of 21 people importing and selling wine and alcoholic beverages, about 20% of which comes from Mexico.
Trump’s commands were initiated by the threats that the president talked about for months, striking the shipments of the three best American trade partners, which together accounts for more than 40% of approximately 3 to 3 hours of goods that he now imports each year.
Canadian oil and other “energy resources” will face a lower 10%. But otherwise, there will be no exception, said the White House.
Trump said that the tariffs were intended to be responsible for Canada and Mexico for promises to deal with illegal immigration and drug trade.
The measures enter into force on February 4 and remain in the place “until the crisis is mitigated” according to the commands.
If the plans were not a surprise, they still represented a potentially amazing blow to many companies, especially for those in North America. Three countries became economically related after a decade of free trade under a contract signed in the 1990s, known then as oil and updated and renamed Trump’s administration in USMac.
The growth of Mezcal -Au US, which brought companies like Palazzi, is part of this change.
Since 2003, the consumption of tequila and mezcal has been three tripled, increasing at a rate of more than 7% every year, according to the Spirits Council Dylid.
Overall, since the 1990s, alcoholic beverages between the US -Ai Mexico increased by more than 4000%, said the organization, which published a statement after the announcement of the president of the warning that Tariffs “would significantly harm all three countries”.
Palazzi has asked the nervous questions of his suppliers in Mexico for months, who are usually small, family owned by a company and may not survive if the tariffs extend.
If he is glued, he said that 25% of the mezcal bottle taxes, the tekke and the rum that brings to stimulate prices – and sales will fall.
“It will definitely have a negative effect on the job. But can you really plan? No,” he said. “Our roll strategy, wait and see and adapt to any madness to take place.”
Economists say hit tariffs could push the economy of Mexico and Canada into a recession.
On the eve of the announcement, Dan Kelly, President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Companies, described the USA tariffs from the United States to retaliate, as “existential” for many of his members.
“Look, we realize that the Government must respond in some way … but at the same time we invite the Government to warn,” he said, comparing the tariffs to imports with chemotherapy: “This poison’s own people to try to fight the disease.”
“It will have an effect everywhere,” said Sophie Avenin, Director of De Grandes Viñedos de Francia in Mexico, noting that many Americans have Mexican alcohol brands and a beer model actually owned by the Belgian company.
Trump, who accepted the tariffs as a problem to solve a problem far from the store, rejected concern about any collateral damage to the US economy.
However, analysts warned that measures would be measured, increasing prices and costing economic affairs – approximately 286,000, according to the Tax Foundation, not including retaliation.
Those in alcoholic business said that the industry is already struggling to get out of the shadow of pandemic and his shocks, including inflation, which encouraged many Americans to border for dinner and drink.
Smaller companies, which usually have a less financial pillow and the ability to swallow a sudden jump of 25%, will bear the burden of disorders.
“I’m pretty frustrated,” said the importer based in California Ben Scott, whose business with nine people Pueblo de Parliament brings brands from Mexico like Mal Bien and Lalocura.
“There is only a huge cost that will affect so many people in other ways other than paying a few dollars more for a cocktail, which does not sound like a tragedy.”
Fred Sanchez spent years pushing his job, Bad Hombre Valuing, a small importer based in California and a distributor of alcoholic beverages based in Mexican agave like Agua del Sol, and recently worked on contracts in New York and Illinois.
But his potential partners began to hesitate while Trump’s tariff conversation became last year.
Now, instead of expanding, he is considering selling his alcoholic beverages and possibly excluding. He said he had little capacity to absorb the cost of costs and recorded some space to increase prices in the current economy.
“25% is simply not something we can realistically pass on to the consumer,” he said.
Sanchez said he believes Trump can use tariffs as a negotiating tactic, and the tax could be short -lived. Still, his business has already been done.
