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,” Greenland 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.
Luca David Opromolla, Owens Distinguished Professor of International Economics, is an expert on international trade and labor economics. Opromolla can answer questions regarding the impact of tariffs on investments in the U.S and reallocation of global value chains; how tariffs affect consumer prices; and the impact of tariffs on innovation efforts by companies.
Opromolla can be reached at lopromo@ncsu.edu.
Carly Burd, assistant professor of accounting, can answer questions regarding how tariffs impact U.S. businesses, what investors should be considering, and how companies plan to discuss or mitigate the tariffs.
“There are certainly accounting and tax ramifications related to these tariffs,” Burd says. “A tariff is technically a non-income tax, and typically the people in companies who manage taxes are also in charge of considering tariffs. Given the high rates of these tariffs, they force U.S. companies to face a decision to either raise prices by the amount of the tariff (which can be tricky if they are in a competitive industry) or keep prices relatively the same and lower their margins. Many companies also discuss issues relating to the tariffs in their financial statements and disclosures to investors, including how they plan to mitigate the tariffs by altering supply chains, moving production, etc.”
Burd can be reached at csburd@ncsu.edu.
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