By Andy Brack
South Carolina makes stuff – a lot of stuff – and sends it all over the world.
But with the volatility in world markets and global trade caused by the unforced errors and bullying by President Donald Trump and his administration over unnecessary tariffs, stuff that we make and export face an uncertain future. People could lose jobs. Some businesses could go under.
The three months since Trump has been in office has created economic shock, but no awe, around the world and it’s making America look small. This increase in uncertainty is troubling for anyone in the middle class investing in the stock market, a recent see-saw which has dropped 9% – or $11 trillion – since Jan. 20, 2025.
“The back-and-forth we’ve seen throughout the year on tariff policy makes it harder for businesses to plan for the future because they don’t know, for example, what their cost structure is likely to be or what the general market environment will look like,” University of South Carolina economist Joseph Von Nessen told us this week. “It’s important to remember that many businesses – and especially manufacturers – are making production decisions several years in advance.
“Uncertainty for businesses breeds paralysis. When businesses don’t know what the market landscape is likely to be, they are more likely to go into wait-and-see mode and postpone investment decisions.”
And that could be more impactful in South Carolina, which has a manufacturing economy ranked first in the South, according to a 2023 article in Maintenance World. Over the last decade, the state grew its manufacturing sector 17% thanks to infrastructure and workforce investments.
South Carolina also is a leading exporter of tires and passenger vehicles – so much so that the S.C. Ports Authority proudly boasts its efforts supporting one in nine jobs in the Palmetto State.
But what are tariffs by the United States, retaliatory tariffs by other nations and new ill will among trading partners going to do to people in South Carolina? While risk managers seem to be mostly mum, the answer is fairly obvious – unless the U.S. can get stuff that it buys – without heavy tariffs – from some place or it starts making stuff pretty darn quickly (and it won’t be quick), either we’ll do without or things will get pricey soon. Hence, there are fears of a recession.
Similarly, if we lose markets for our goods – such as South Carolina agricultural products usually bought by China and other Asian countries – our manufacturers could face an uncertain future. Unless they’re doing what their risk managers likely are frantically advising – finding new markets for South Carolina goods.
So all in all, it’s a big damned mess that the federal government has caused around the world thanks to an unstrategic tariff policy not rooted in economic sanity. And remember, tariffs aren’t paid directly by foreign countries. They’re paid by Americans trying to get foreign goods.
Von Nessen notes, “A tariff is simply a tax on imported goods, which makes these goods more expensive for [American] buyers. And the buyer could either be a business that is purchasing raw materials for its production process or a consumer purchasing household items.
“In each case, however, the ultimate effect is that the prices of goods affected by tariffs are likely to rise, impacting consumer demand. In addition, any retaliatory tariffs implemented by other countries would raise the prices of goods that are being produced in the U.S. and sold to foreign consumers, which would lower the demand for these U.S. businesses.”
The U.S. is causing this tariff mess. It needs to cool down and develop a real strategy rooted in common sense and the rule of law. And it needs to do so before the South Carolinians who make stuff – a lot of the best stuff in the world, in fact – get pushed from the assembly line to the unemployment line.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.
