The United States and China called a 90-day truce on their tariff war in an effort to ease pressure on both economies.
The new deal sets U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods at 30%, compared to just 10% on American exports, offering some relief to Syracuse businesses.
Prior to the agreement, Senator Chuck Schumer said the Trump tariffs were adding undue stress on Central New York families’ budgets.
“The average family in upstate New York would see annual costs increase by up to $6,500 for gas, groceries, and other goods,” Schumer said.
Mark Williams, co-owner of Savurn Memorials, said his business was already feeling the effects of the Trump administration’s foreign trade policy when the Chinese tariffs were announced.
“It has impacted us, unfortunately,” Williams said. “It has increased the cost of monuments that are imported, particularly from India and Africa. We do sell a lot of domestic monuments, but certain colors are imports.”
In early April, the Trump administration announced global tariffs with a baseline of 10%, including a 34% tax on Chinese imports. China retaliated with tariffs of its own and threatened to restrict exports of rare-earth metals essential to modern devices and high-end manufacturing. The two countries escalated their tariffs in response to each other’s moves. At the height of the trade dispute, the United States imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, while China levied a 125% tariff on goods from the U.S.
Workers across China took to the streets protesting the trade war as export orders dropped to their lowest since the COVID pandemic. The nation felt the impact of the sharp decline in trade with the United States, the world’s largest consumer. The tariffs led to factory shutdowns and mass layoffs that severely hurt the Chinese economy.
Meanwhile, Americans also rallied against higher import prices. Protests were held across the country to speak out against the tariffs and other aspects of the Trump administration. However, President Trump said economic turmoil is not the goal.
“We’re not looking to hurt China,” Trump said. “China was being hurt very badly. They were closing up factories. They were having a lot of unrest, and they were very happy to be able to do something with us.”
The nations brought down the baseline tariffs in an agreement last Monday. For the moment, the pause is providing economic relief for Williams, which is some good news during difficult times for the families he serves.
“A lot of our customers are going through a tough time and unexpected costs inflated because of the tariffs,” Williams said.
He said his monument business is adjusting by keeping his customers’ needs and his own bottom line in check as the U.S. resolves its trade issues.
“We are optimistic, Williams said. “We've grown and we've tried to keep everything in line the best we can and economical.”