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Tariffs impacts: Tampa businesses see quick price hikes on foreign goods

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Published  April 2, 2025 10:01pm EDT
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Local impacts of tariff announcement

Evyn Moon reports.

The Brief

    • President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs on foreign goods on Wednesday.
    • Some think this will positively affect the overall economy, while many warn the opposite.
    • All agree that businesses and consumers will be affected.

TAMPA, Fla. - President Donald Trump hopes new tariffs imposed on all foreign goods will make people buy more items that are American-made, but there are concerns about just how much prices will rise for everyday things like food, clothing, toys and appliances. 

One economist tells FOX 13 that consumers will feel this hit their wallets quickly, in grocery stores, even in their Amazon cart.

"I think that for consumers, they can expect to see these tariff effects, frankly, everywhere. We buy a lot of goods and services from abroad," said Abby Hall, an associate professor of economics at The University of Tampa. 

Local perspective:

A few local businesses say they have already seen the impacts, especially auto repair shops, which will now see a 25% tax on all imported cars and parts.

READ: Trump's new reciprocal tariffs on other countries 

"We've seen a lot of increases in parts already being notified by suppliers; the parts are going up even before the announcement today," said Bob Brooks, the general manager at Vortex Motorsports. "A lot of the parts do come from other countries. A lot of them come from Germany and Europe, and we've been notified that those parts are going up by 25% already."

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He says the cars they are working with probably won't be American-made, but he thinks it could benefit people in the long run. 

"We can't sacrifice quality in a lot of these vehicles, so we're going to have just to stay with [foreign manufacturers]," Brooks said. "While a lot the parts do come from Europe, there's a lot of good manufacturers who make parts for their cars in the United States." 

Dig deeper:

Other local businesses don't have that option. The Unique India Grocery and Boutique in Riverview imports all of its products. 

"The main thing that we import from India are rice, beans, lentils, spices, packaged foods. So 90% of our inventories are from India; another 10% is from Canada and other countries," said store owner Sujatha Bayana. 

PICTURED: Sujatha Bayana.

Bayana says the tariffs are already hurting their business, and they can’t buy these products domestically.

PREVIOUS: Tampa Bay area businesses prepare for Trump tariffs

"We have been seeing a drastic drop in our sales because there is already price changes that are happening throughout the store. What is grown in U.S. is totally different than what is growing in India because the climate is different, the temperature is different, the water is different and the soil is different."

Big picture view:

Some still feel that Trump’s approach might be good in the long run if more buy American-made goods in the long run. Many economists disagree. 

"Jobs don't come back overnight, or industries don't magically shift from being overseas to being domestic. Frankly, there are certain things that the U.S. is just not very good at making. We don't make really good avocados in the United States; Mexico does," Hall said.

The Source: FOX 13's Evyn Moon collected the information in this story.

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