“With our new president announcing policy changes on a daily basis, it's increasingly impossible to figure out where we're going.”
Grand Valley State University Seidman College of Business economist Brian Long says West Michigan business leaders are concerned about Trump administration tariffs, actual and threatened.
“Increasingly uncertain about the future business environment. The Michigan economy is especially vulnerable because of the tariff impact on the auto industry.”
Based on the West Michigan February business survey, Long says the economy was chugging along slowly but strong. Then came the tariffs.
“We have millions of dollars' worth of auto parts crossing the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit in both directions every day, and the enforcement of a new tariff would seriously upset the business models for the firms on both sides of the border.”
Long says inflation is slowly rising month to month, the fed has no incentive to cut interest rates, and the consequences of tariffs and retaliation from trading partners are unpredictable.
“Now we don't know for sure what might happen.”
