Trump's pause on some tariffs will only ease the pain temporarily, Sens. Schumer and Kim say
President Trump's decision on Wednesday to put some tariffs on pause may have sent the stock markets soaring, but area lawmakers say it's only a temporary reprieve.
With businesses still putting major decisions on hold, local residents are worried about the loss of retirement income and rising prices.
Sens. Schumer and Kim sound off on "chaos"
The closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange put and end, at least for now, to days of plunging investment portfolios and talk of recession. However, lawmakers say Tri-State Area residents are still in for plenty of pain. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calls it chaos, government by chaos.
"Irretrievable damage is done because of the chaos. Many businesses are just putting everything on hold," Schumer said. "The desire to hire a new worker or train a new worker, the desire to build a new plant, the desire to try a new product, all on hold because nobody knows what the heck is going to happen next."
New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim said he talked to local businessmen after President Trump announced a 90-day pause on most tariffs, though 10% reciprocal tariffs are still in place and the president increased the tariffs charged to China to 125%.
"It's going to continue to affect the prices that small businesses, in particular, are going to be paying because they're saying just the prospect of additional tariffs down the road, whether it's 90 days or not, is going to keep their prices up," Kim said.
Local residents sweating prices, retirement, Social Security
The yo-yoing tariffs have many worried.
"My wife runs an import-export business and she's from Italy and she, obviously, has more duties to pay at the border both going in and coming out," one person said.
"Groceries are crazy. It's just insane. I mean, you know, it is like $100 more probably per week," another person said.
"Everyone that I know that's close to retirement age is really concerned about whether or not they're going to be able to retire," another said.
"I'm absolutely terrified because I'm supposed to start collecting Social Security soon and that's what I'm going to live on when I retire. My savings are very low and my 401K is disappearing," another added.
