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Bay Area stores starting to feel the sting of Trump tariffs

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Published  March 5, 2025 9:14am PST
Concord
KTVU FOX 2

Bay Area stores starting to feel the sting of Trump tariffs

The president has doubled-down on maintaining – and even increasing – tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

The Brief

    • President Donald Trump doubled-down on maintaining – and even increasing – tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China during his joint address to Congress.
    • Other world leaders have responded in kind, vowing to slap the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs.
    • The trade war spells uncertainty for local businesses that sell imported and international goods.

CONCORD, Calif. - A trade war between the United States and its biggest trading partners appears to be intensifying, and local markets in the Bay Area are starting to feel the impact.

During his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump doubled-down on maintaining – and even increasing – tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. He promised to stick with or raise the current 25% tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian goods, and the current 20% tariffs on Chinese goods.

Local perspective:

Javier Gomez, CEO of the Las Montanas Supermarket with locations in San Pablo and Concord, told KTVU there is a lot of uncertainty about how this is going to affect business.

He said about 40% of the items he carries in his grocery stores are made in Mexico, including condensed milk, candy and hot chocolate. But with the tariffs, the items could become so expensive that he may be forced to stop selling them altogether.

"It's sad it has to come to this," Gomez said. "Just with the economy right now a lot of people are struggling. To hear prices are going to go higher... it's going to be a big impact for the whole community."

Big picture view:

Trump on Tuesday also said that if Mexico, Canada and China enact reciprocal tariffs – which all three nations have said they will – the U.S. will increase tariffs yet again.

The threat prompted sharp responses from other world leaders.

On Wednesday morning, the Chinese embassy in the U.S. released a statement on X reading, "If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals. If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end."

Canada's leaders have also vowed to fight back, warning that heating oil and petroleum – two of Canada's biggest exports to the U.S. used by millions of Americans to heat their homes – could be cut off.

"We will immediately apply a 25% surcharge on the electricity we export," said Doug Ford, premier of Ontario. "We will not hesitate to shut off their power as well."

Canadian officials say they've also instructed retailers to take some American products off store shelves, including liquor and alcohol.

Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said her country will respond with its own retaliatory tariffs, but will wait until Sunday to announce which U.S. products will be affected.

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