"Tariffs have led to Fung's decision to close her store and retire earlier then she had planned. It's just hard to have a price so high, and I don't see the economy's going anywhere except going down, Fung said. And also inflation: People are cutting back and very worried about spending. How I'm seeing it, we can't plan because we don't know what these tariffs are going to be."
"Alan Sykes, a Stanford University law professor and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, said via email that for the most part, the tariffs are aimed at reducing the trade deficit and expanding U.S. manufacturing. Other tariffs, like those on steel and aluminum, are aimed at national security, despite the fact that the U.S. produces more steel and aluminum domestically than is consumed by the defense industry, he said."
Sara Fung closed Cotton Works in Los Gatos six months before its 25th anniversary because tariffs and inflation increased costs and reduced customer spending. She noticed costs rise in April after Liberation Day tariffs were announced and delayed action during a 90-day negotiation hold. Combined tariff-driven price increases and general inflation made product pricing unsustainable. Tariffs raised the cost of a French-imported outdoor furniture line threefold due to aluminum and steel levies. Alan Sykes, a Stanford University law professor and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, says most tariffs aim to reduce the trade deficit and expand U.S. manufacturing; some target national security.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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