Tariff Policies Drive Unprecedented Price Increases And Job Losses Across Michigan

This year, Michigan families can expect to pay an additional $2,400 on average due to rising tariff costs, with some households facing even steeper increases as new trade policies take effect. This comes at a time when automakers, strained by uncertainty in the market, announce further job cuts for Warren-area workers this fall. Meanwhile, consumer prices continue to increase, and working family budgets in Michigan are already stretched thin. Now, the elimination of the tariff exemption for small orders means that packages previously entering duty-free now face a 54% tariff or $100 flat fee, dramatically increasing costs for everyday goods.

Michiganders are struggling with the high cost of everyday goods as tariffs reach their highest levels since 1934. Representatives John James (MI-10) and Tom Barrett (MI-07) have consistently supported the Trump administration's tariff policies that are driving these price increases. With the recent elimination of the tariff exemption for small packages, Michigan families now face additional costs on millions of everyday items. Major retailers like Walmart report that tariff costs are rising "each week" with no end in sight. 

“Our congressional representatives continue to back policies that place the financial burden on working families to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.” said Steve Lawson, Executive Director for Michigan Families for Fair Care. “These tariffs have shown that they are not going away and hundreds of thousands of Michiganders will bear the cost through higher prices on basic necessities, and employers will have to continue letting people go to survive.”