- Trump has named April 2 Liberation Day, with an expected announcement of widespread tariffs.
- Video shows Patrick Dunigan, Vice President of Dunigan Brothers, Inc., sharing the impact his business has seen already.
- Dunigan Brothers has been a family-owned heavy civil underground contractor in Jackson for 80 years.
President Donald Trump has dubbed today Liberation Day, with promises to roll out a new set of tariffs. While we don't know exactly what that will look like, many here in Mid-Michigan are preparing for the possible effects.
"We're definitely going to see it. I mean, (the) construction industry in general feels all of it," says Vice President of Dunigan Brothers, Inc., Patrick Dunigan. Jackson's Dunigan Brothers has been a heavy civil underground contractor and a family business for 80 years.
Dunigan explains, "Over the last few weeks, we've kind of seen warning letters from different people (vendors), anywhere from 5-25% for some of our construction materials." Warnings that come ahead of President Donald Trump's expected announcement of widespread tariffs. Trump's stated goal is to roll back unfair trade practices that he said have been hurting American workers.
While the details have yet to be announced, Dunigan says prices are already going up to start Trump's term. He explains, "We've seen raw materials, copper piping in the last week go up 5, 10%." Metal, aluminum, lumber, all products that Dunigan says aren't necessarily sourced in the U.S.
WATCH: More on how tariffs are impacting the construction industry
Jackson College Economics Professor, Aaron Ensley, shares what he thinks consumers should expect: "Any product that's subject to a tariff is going to, likely, go up in price. Now, economists might talk about things like elasticity, which has to do with price sensitivity. But, in general, you're going to see some substitution but, likely, you're going to see the price of that good go up." As far as prices, there's no sure answer of what consumers may see. According to Ensley, "It depends on the tariff and how the different producers of consumer goods, or other types of goods. How are they going to substitute, or how are they going to pass those costs along?"
As for Dunigan Brothers, Dunigan says their pricing will see an immediate effect, and they'll be prepared for that scenario. "I guess for us, as a business, we'll just have to eat some of those costs and absorb it," says Dunigan.
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