NC State Experts Can Discuss Tariffs, Effects

North Carolina State University experts can provide commentary on the United States’ imposition of 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on products from China, as well as the impacts of reciprocal tariffs by those countries on the U.S. The U.S. also announced, then delayed for a month, the imposition of 25% tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada.

Andrew Greenland, assistant professor of economics, is an expert on tariffs with research interests in trade policy and the effects of trade on labor markets.

Greenland can speak to the effects of the tariffs on U.S. labor, companies and the agriculture sector. Greenland has also done research on China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, on the multilateral trading system and on quantifying the effects of tariffs on consumer prices.

“Impending domestic price hikes are going to be swift and large,” Greeland said. “The effective rate will likely surpass 25% because of how interdependent global supply chains are – things may be tariffed crossing borders multiple times before final sale.

“But the biggest problem will be undoing all of this damage. We are literally discussing a return to tariff rates we saw in the early 1900s. It took the global community generations to avoid the pitfalls of beggar-thy-neighbor protectionist sentiment and tariff escalation.”

Greenland can be reached at agreenl@ncsu.edu.

Jeff Dorfman, Hugh C. Kiger Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, says that, overall, North Carolina could be hurt by the tariffs and accompanying trade war more than it is helped.

“The tariffs on China mostly just hurt anybody who buys items from China, which is almost everyone,” he said. “China’s response is harder to predict but we sell them poultry, pork, tobacco and sweet potatoes in significant numbers.”

Dorfman can be reached at jhdorfman@ncsu.edu.

Harrison Fell, professor of agricultural and resource economics, is an expert on energy economics. Fell can speak to issues regarding the energy trade (e.g., oil, natural gas, electricity) as well as issues related to renewable energy production (e.g., solar panels, wind turbines).

Fell can be reached at hfell@ncsu.edu.

Rob Handfield, Bank of America University Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management, notes that the tariffs have consequences for both consumers and industry sectors.

“The effects of these tariffs will surely cause prices to rise for U.S. consumers,” Handfield said. “I am more concerned about supply chains shutting down due to disruptions in product flows.”

Handfield can be reached at rbhandfi@ncsu.edu.

Tim Kraft, associate professor of operations and supply chain management, can speak about the supply chain and manufacturing implications of the tariffs, both for American and international companies.

Kraft can be reached at tckraft@ncsu.edu.

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This post was originally published in NC State News.