Tariffs have dominated the minds of people in the United States since 10 percent tariffs were placed on all imports on April 5, sometimes referred to as “Liberation Day.” President Donald Trump ordered higher tariffs on imports from 57 countries, which was supposed to begin April 9. However, he suspended them for 90 days, with the exception of imports from China.

The April 5 tariffs, and previous ones placed on Canada and Mexico, resulted in an ongoing trade war with numerous countries placing or threatening retaliatory tariffs on United States exports. Some of the retaliations include Canada implementing a $20 billion tariff on U.S. goods; China, 10 to 15 percent on agricultural exports such as chicken and soybeans and the country also revoked import licenses for three major soybean exporters and; the European Union threatened tariffs on 400 U.S. products, such as toilet paper and clothing.

Some Marshalltown residents might think tariffs are primarily a concern for corporate businesses or metro cities, but the impact stretches to businesses here, too.

One of those businesses is Adland Engraving & Screen Print Co. Owner David Adland said fortunately, their revenue streams are diverse enough to withstand some of the forecasted economic downturn. However, he added they are concerned about the schools, businesses and organizations they business with and how tariffs and other factors may influence buying habits.

“Most of our inventory is just in time, so we try to avoid stocking huge amounts of supplies,” Adland said. “We have suppliers that are a day away and UPS has been doing a great job of getting items to us on an overnight basis.”

Another impacted community business is MARSHALLTOWN. President/CEO Joe Carter said they are feeling it with both exports and imports.

“Currently imports are where we’re seeing the greatest impact,” he said.

According to Carter, the heaviest hit category for MARSHALLTOWN is the price-point — or entry-level — products sourced from China, along with any products with significant aluminum or steel content, especially with the nearly immediate effectiveness of the tariffs and their limited ability to plan a response.

MARSHALLTOWN is not alone in feeling the aluminum hit. The 25 percent tariff, which was applied to all aluminum imports in March, is also impacting Adland Engraving. Adland said they buy sheets of aluminum to conduct their business.

Fortunately, suppliers have kept Adland notified of possible increases. Whenever that happens, he contacts different accounts to get an idea as to what their needs might be.

“We’ve tried to keep our pricing in check through all of this, and we’re keeping an eye out for opportunities that may be out there,” Adland said. “Our government is based on a system of checks and balances, and we’re pleased that Senator Grassley is leading a bipartisan effort to rein in the executive branch and represent the people of Iowa.”

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on April 3 introduced S1272, the Trade Review Act of 2025, which would give Congress the power to approve tariffs. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Finance.

“There seems to be uncertainty in the immediate future regarding tariffs,” Adland said. “We’re glad to see that Senator Grassley and others are formulating a plan to have a say so in any tariff. It’s kind of like going through COVID all over again – not sure what is going to happen. [We’re] trying to hold prices the best we can and still purchase goods in an open market.”

That uncertainty is the only certain aspect of the tariff situation, he added. Adland hopes the clients they do business with will be able to make clear and concise purchasing decisions. As the situation progresses, he said they will continue to try to hold pricing and only order exactly what is needed.

“Being in an agricultural state, we’re concerned about the farming community and how market availability and supply issues will affect their ability to do business,” Adland said. “After all, we’re in a trickle down economy in a lot of ways, and if the farmers ain’t happy, we aren’t either. We applaud Senator Grassley and others in taking the initiative to reel in the executive branch in regards to the issuance of tariffs. We need representation and the best way to do that is to get Congress involved. Too many people are asking ‘Why are they there?’ We have survived market ups and downs, COVID and increased online competition – we’re hoping that we can get through this as well.”

The tariff situation is nothing new, but it has not been this wide ranging, hitting numerous imports. MARSHALLTOWN dealt with the 2018 tariffs, but to a lesser extent. Carter said if the President’s stated objective of creating more manufacturing in the country is the ultimate result, they are in favor of the direction the U.S. is headed and of any near-term challenges associated with those decisions.

“It’s impossible to know if this is the right way to affect these changes but we’ll analyze the information and make good decisions regarding MARSHALLTOWN’s path forward and, ultimately, we’re going to be okay,” he said. “. . . We see more pros than cons thus far, given we’re a major U.S. manufacturer largely leveraging domestically sourced materials. Over the past 135 years, MARSHALLTOWN has weathered many crises — two world wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and most recently COVID-19 — and, with the strength, resilience and hard work of our incredible people, we’ve been able to bounce back even stronger than before. I’m confident this circumstance will be no different.”

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.