CBS News Colorado: Business owners, economists discuss potential impact of Trump's tariffs on Coloradans - cbsnews.com
“According to new information from Trade Partnership Worldwide, Colorado could be impacted by the tune of $1.4 billion. Colorado obviously has to pay higher prices for consumers, higher cost for some producers, and that's why the international trade will shrink a little bit," said Kulkarni Kishore, a professor of economics at MSU Denver. "It could be higher than that too." Small business owners like Jeremy Petersen, the owner of natural pet food company Identity Pet Nutrition, are bracing for the worst-case scenario.”
9News - NBC: 'It's just not a good situation': Colorado businesses react to tariffs - 9News - NBC (VIDEO)
“At a lunchtime town hall on Tuesday, Colorado business owners shared dismal accounts and predictions of how President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China are expected to impact their industries.
“The town hall was hosted by the World Trade Center Denver and Farmers for Free Trade. They estimate Colorado will experience $1.4 billion in new tariffs.”
“One of the speakers was Jeremy Petersen, who founded Identity Pets Nutrition. The pet food company based in Windsor makes 100% of their products in Canada and is expected to raise prices about 30% because of the tariffs, Petersen said.”
The Colorado Sun: New tariffs are estimated to cost Colorado $1.4 billion a year. Companies already feel the pain, and consumers may soon. - coloradosun.com
“Sandra Payne, president of Denver Concrete Vibrator, figured her company was already paying some sort of tariff because some items her company needs came from China, Canada and Mexico, where its supplier sources steel, aluminum, rubber hoses and a variety of other items the family-owned company uses to build equipment used to strengthen concrete.
But she never knew how much. Tariffs hadn’t shown up on a bill — until Monday.
“It was perfect timing,” Payne said during a small business panel on tariffs hosted by the World Trade Center Denver on Tuesday. “It was 25% for this product. The product itself was $3,100. The tariffs are $675. … We don’t want to raise our prices all the time. We’ve raised them a couple times in the last couple of years. But margins are tight and we will be forced to deal with this somehow.”
The Denver Gazette: Trump tariffs could quadruple what Colorado already pays for imports, report says - Denver Gazette
“At a town hall titled ”Tarriflation” at the World Trade Center Denver office on Tuesday, Kishore Kulkarni, economist at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said the tariffs can get out of hand if retaliation between the nations escalates.
“The economist said he expects prices to go up for producers and consumers.
“Under the previous U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Colorado’s tariff rate was about 0.12%. Colorado paid $7.4 million in tariffs from Mexico and Canada for about $6.5 billion in imports. The state previously paid more in tariffs for imports from China, about $263 million, when tariffs averaged about 14.5%.”
Colorado Public Radio (CPR): Trump’s tariffs hit one of Colorado’s most valuable resources – craft beer - cpr.org
“Like everything else, beer has gotten more expensive in the past several years. So has the cost to produce it. Now Colorado’s craft brewers, businesses on which Colorado created a culture and a reputation, are girding for even higher costs. As President Donald Trump lobs tariffs at the United States’ largest trading partners, prices are poised to go up on everything from aluminum cans to grain.
Those higher costs are likely to be passed on to Colorado’s beer drinkers. That could be a further drag on an industry already struggling with declining sales.
“At some point, it just gets too expensive,” said Dave Thibodeau, president and co-founder of Durango-based Ska Brewery. “And I think we're up against that threshold or we will be with these tariffs.”
Event Highlights:
New Tariff Data Released: Trade Partnership Worldwide unveiled an analysis indicating that the latest round of tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China could cost Colorado businesses an estimated $1.4 billion annually, nearly quadrupling the state's current tariff burden.
Panel Discussions: Speakers included:
- Kishore Kulkarni, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
- Jeremy Petersen, Founder, President & CEO of Identity Pet Nutrition
- Gail Ross, COO of Krimson Klover
- Sandra J. Payne, President of Denver Concrete Vibrator (DCV).
- Nicholas Colglazier, Executive Director of Colorado Corn
The discussions focused on the direct impact of tariffs on their respective industries and the broader economic consequences for Colorado.
The Tariff Town Hall served as a crucial platform for stakeholders to voice their concerns, share experiences, and discuss strategies to navigate the evolving trade landscape. Farmers for Free Trade will be hosting additional town halls – including this Thursday in Nashville – on the impact of tariffs.
More information on Nashville below:
