Trump tariffs causing price increase on dog tags, cans, consumer goods

Jonathan
Ernst/Reuters

• President Donald Trump’s tariffs are starting to hit
  average American consumers.
• The latest example: a cost increase for aluminum dog
  tags in Dane County, Wisconsin.
• The county had to pay $2,200 for dog tags this year, up
  46% from last year.

Small businesses around the US are beginning to sound the alarm
on the costs of President Donald Trump’s trade fights.

The latest to feel a squeeze: the dog-owning population of one
county in Wisconsin.

According to
WISC in Madison, Wisconsin, the price of aluminum dog tags
Dane County, Wisconsin, issued to pet owners after animal
registration jumped 46% from last year, to $2,200 from $1,500,
due to Trump’s tariffs on imported aluminum.

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell told
WISC that the county’s original provider requested $4,000 for
the tags before the county found another provider that was able
to offer a lower price — though still well above the previous
year’s cost.

“It’s one of the many ways you’ll see little price
increases all over the place from these tariffs,” McDonell,

a Democrat, told WISC.

Economists have warned that while Trump’s tariffs on steel,
aluminum, and some Chinese goods mostly avoided hitting consumer
goods directly, businesses that rely on these imports to produce
final goods could eventually pass those costs on to average
consumers.

According to the report, the $15 fee to register a dog or
cat that has been spayed or neutered will increase only slightly.
(It’s currently $20 if the pet is not spayed or neutered.)
McDonell said that while the price increase was relatively small,
he was worried about bigger items like new cars for the police
department.

More than Wisconsin dog tags

Trump’s tariffs are also causing price increases for more than
just dog tags in Wisconsin. Major corporations have warned that
the tariffs will
force consumers to pay higher prices at the register soon.

Coca-Cola, Miller-Coors, and Sam Adams all warned that the
tariffs will push up the cost of their beverages. Newell Brands,
the maker of home goods like the Crock-Pot, said the
tariffs could cost the company $100 million
annually. Michael Polk, the company’s CEO, said
consumers could bear some of that cost.

“I think it’s too early to know exactly how much of the
pricing will land but we’re not going to hesitate to take the
price up,” he said during a quarterly earnings call.

Broad economic data has also reflected the increase in prices.
The latest consumer price
index showed prices for major appliances up 2% in July from
the month before and 8.5% from July 2017. That compares to just a
2.9% year-over-year increase for the broader index.

Tiffany Wilding, a US economists at Pimco, said the increase may
have a lot to do with Trump’s trade crackdown.

“This may reflect the rising input costs of industrial
metals … but producers could also be accelerating price hikes
ahead of implementation of US tariffs on Chinese imports of
appliances and related parts,”
Wilding wrote.