Trevecca economics professor speaks with local news, discusses tariffs affecting the community 

By Antonia Lopez

Editor-in-Chief

Trevecca Associate Economics Professor Joshua Smith spoke with News Channel 5 on their morning show, MorningLine, regarding President Trump’s tariffs and how that may affect residents of Tennessee’s pockets. 

Smith joined journalist Nick Beres, the show’s host, to discuss and answer questions regarding tariffs after President Trump announced an extra 25% tariff on aluminum and steel worldwide.

“A tariff is a tax on imported goods. That means anything not made in the United States could be subject to that, and as it comes in the United States, there’s an added fee that applies to those products that have to be paid by either the buyer or the seller,” said Smith.

The tariffs were put into effect last month. University officials say there is no current direct impact on students or the university, but there could be indirect impacts in the future.

“Tariffs generally do not have a direct impact on universities and college students, but they can have some indirect effects—such as increasing the cost of technology, lab supplies, equipment, and construction materials,” said Trevecca’s chief financial officer, Mariano Monzu in an email. 

Smith said consumers may be impacted as these tariffs take effect in different ways: the cost of food is the main one, as during the winter, a lot of vegetables and perishables are imported from other countries. 

“What we know, to a general consumer, is this is going to make things more expensive,” Smith said. “In a lot of ways, the consumer is the one who’s actually paying more. Our stuff is just going to get more expensive, especially the things that we can’t make in the United States, or we don’t normally make.”

With a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, and a 20% tariff on goods from China, as well as a worldwide tariff on aluminum and steel, President Trump is using tariffs as an incentive to encourage Canada and Mexico to deal with illegal immigration and drug dealing, according to the White House website. He is using the tariffs on China to encourage Americans to buy products produced in the United States, according to Smith. 

According to the fall 2024 Vanderbilt Poll, 74% of non-MAGA Republicans, 91% of self-identified MAGA Republicans, 49% of Independents and 7% of Democrats support tariffs on Chinese imports. 

Smith clarified that sometimes sellers raise the price of the product to cover for the increase in price caused by the tariff. He used an example of selling and buying steel with Beres to better illustrate how the process works in an easily understandable way. 

With a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico, Smith stated that the cost of groceries and cafeteria food may go up. 

“So, for things from Mexico, there’s a lot of food—avocados, tomatoes, and vegetables. We import a lot from them in the winter, for example. So how would this affect students? Food prices will go up. Grocery store prices will go up. The caf will probably charge more because they’re sourcing costs are going to go up,” said Smith. 

Consumers may also see a price increase when purchasing electronics, like iPhones, as many of these are produced and built in China. 

Smith emphasized the importance of understanding the vagueness involved in President Trump’s tariffs. So far, the government has paused tariffs with Canada and Mexico that are covered by the North America trade agreement until April and President Trump has stated he will impose reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners beginning on April 2, according to an article by CNBC. 

“There’s one really big caveat to all of this. It’s still unclear if these tariffs will actually happen, because they’re kind of wishy washy,” Smith said. “Under the administration, we’re gonna do these tariffs, nevermind we’re gonna pause, no, we’re gonna do them. There may be some exceptions, and so there may be products that it doesn’t apply to, but we still don’t have much clarity on that.”