NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — From the factory floor to the family dinner table, President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico, which are aimed at holding the countries responsible for their role in the illegal immigration and fentanyl crisis in the U.S., could have a negative impact on Tennesseans’ wallets and businesses’ bottom lines.
On Saturday, the President signed executive orders imposing a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
“They owe us a lot of money, and I’m sure they’re going to pay,” President Trump said.
📧 Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts →
On Monday, President Trump paused tariffs on Mexico for 30 days after the country agreed to send 10,000 troops to the southern border. Hours later, the President announced on Truth Social tariffs on Canadian goods will also be paused for 30 days after Canada “has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country,” the post said.
As of this article’s publishing, 10% tariffs on Chinese goods still were in place.
Critics and Democratic politicians have argued the tariffs placed on imported goods will likely be passed on to the consumer.
“You would see price increases kind of across the board, from gas to groceries, to cars,” said Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville).
Sen. Yarbro told News 2 the tariffs would also impact businesses’ bottom lines.
“In Tennessee, that would be farmers; that would be a huge blow to the auto-manufacturing industry and auto workers because we import a lot of parts from Mexico. We actually export a lot of vehicles from Canada, so starting a trade war with both is pretty counterproductive,” Sen. Yarbro said.
In addition, if countries retaliated with counter-tariffs, some fear that could impact companies and industries that manufacture products distinct to Tennessee, including Tennessee whiskey.
In a joint statement by the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., the Chamber of the Tequila Industry, and Spirits Canada, the industry bodies wrote, “We are deeply concerned that U.S. tariffs on imported spirits from Canada and Mexico will significantly harm all three countries and lead to a cycle of retaliatory tariffs that negatively impacts our shared industry.”
The statement specifically named Tennessee whiskey one of the “distinctive products” that “can only be produced in its designated countries,” whose trading partners and domestic industry would be negatively impacted by tariffs.
“We also know [countries] would retaliate with things that are specific to states like Tennessee, like Tennessee whiskey and Jack Daniels, so this would hurt Tennessee businesses in a significant way, which is why you saw the stock market sell-off earlier today and why you’ve started to see the president back away from this foolishness,” Sen. Yarbro said.
However, in a post on X, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) alluded that the tariffs are to hold countries that contributed to the influx of illegal immigrants and fentanyl in the U.S. accountable.
“Mexico and Canada are going to learn the hard way — if they refuse to work with us to secure our borders, there will be financial consequences,” Sen. Blackburn posted on X.
When News 2 reached out to Sen. Blackburn’s office for a comment about the tariffs, her office sent us various X posts from the senator’s account, which never specifically mentioned tariffs.
“President Trump is not going to allow the United States of America to be bullied,” another post sent to News 2 by Sen. Blackburn’s office read.
“President Trump is not going to allow Communist China to continue to poison Americans with fentanyl,” Sen. Blackburn’s third post read.
News 2 also reached out to Sen. Bill Hagerty’s office for comment but had not heard back by the time this article was published.
The Tennessee Distiller’s Guild had no comment.
