(WXYZ) — President Donald Trump is calling today 'liberation day', saying that more incoming tariffs will boost the economy.
It's the latest escalation in the nation's global trade war. The President has said he'll be unveiling the latest round of tariffs during an afternoon ceremony in the rose garden.
TARIFFS PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS ANNOUNCED SO FAR
So far, he's placed tariffs on Chinese goods, a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25 percent tariff on auto imports that will go into effect tomorrow.
These tariff plans have many people in metro Detroit talking; while some believe they could the nation's economy, others worry they'll be shouldering the price increases.
"To be honest, it’s concerning to me just because of the price of things already," said Maya Calloway Richardson.
"I've been saving up a lot more getting ready for this," said Anthony Burley. "I’m honestly not too optimistic of my bank account growing much in the next year because of these tariffs."
But we don't know exactly what that means. Last month, President Trump said the 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada would go into effect today, but that isn't confirmed. He could also impose tariffs on the European Union, South Korea, Brazil and India. Those are on top of tariffs already in effect: 20 percent on Chinese imports and 25 percent on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Oakland University associate professor Mike Greiner says this all together can create the perfect conditions for a recession, as retaliatory tariffs are expected to be imposed on American goods going to other countries.
"(There is) concern that this could potentially lead to a recession. We've seen Goldman and Sachs, for example, increase their recession expectation," Greiner said.
"When will we see grocery store prices start to go up?" I asked him.
"We’ll start to see them go up very quickly. Especially with agricultural goods," Greiner said. "One of the biggest that I can think of will be energy...I think that there’s an expectation that prices on that will go up substantially. Canada is actually the largest source of imported oil to the U.S."
Professor Greiner did say companies that solely produce the items targeted by tariffs, like U.S. Steel companies, could benefit. But every other U.S. company using that steel will be hurt because higher demand will drive prices up.
