Georgians brace for potential impacts of new widespread tariffs

ATLANTA, Ga. - The impact of new tariffs by the Trump administration will be felt in your wallet.

Clothing, electronics, cars and groceries are set to go up in price.

Both local mom-and-pop grocery stores and big-box chains could feel the squeeze from the tariffs.

Michelle Brown was out buying groceries at Westview Corner Grocery in southwest Atlanta.

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“Both I and my father are on fixed incomes, and everything has gone up gasoline, groceries. It’s a concern, it’s insane,” she said.

Brown says the tariffs will force her to make changes.

“Starting to make decisions about what’s really needed and what’s not needed in the household. Maybe - we need to pull back,” she said.

Westview Corner Grocery owner Matt Garbett says they’re waiting to see how things play out.

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He said he is confused.

“We still don’t know what the price of the bananas will be - what the price of anything will be,” he said.

Companies such as Ford are getting creative as the new tariffs roll out.

The auto maker announced a new campaign offering employee discounts on all cars.

New tariffs introduced by President Trump on Wednesday include a 10% universal tariff on all imports.

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Trump says the tariffs are an effort to bring back more manufacturing jobs to the U.S.

Georgia State Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) is a blueberry farmer who believes that will be case.

Goodman said, “I do think there’ll be some short-term pain, but I also think that it’s important that we bring back a lot of these really essential industries to our country.”

Susan Aaronson is a research professor and director of the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub at Elliot School of International Affairs.

“There are firms that have long wanted to invest in the United States, but I fear that this strategy is no incentive to create jobs in the United States,” said Aaronson. “Unless the United States is your only market. But what the United States is doing is, uh, pushing countries away from us.”