Soften the blow by stocking up on these tariff-sensitive items

Stockpile but don't go nuts

By Will Collette

You’ve heard a lot lately about Donald Trump’s plan to impose “tariffs” (also called “duties”) on imported goods. We still don’t know if he will impose these tariffs across the board as he said he would during his campaign. Or whether he will target them to gain bargaining power, punish countries for some real or imagined offense or just pressure them, as he threatened to do against Canada to force it to become the US’s 51^st state.

Tariffs are paid for by you, not the targeted country.

US importers of foreign goods pay the actual tariff and then pass that cost onto you. Trump’s tariff blitz on Canada and Mexico, now postponed, will have a huge impact on food and construction materials. Because of low margins in those industries, the tariffs will be passed on almost entirely on YOU.

Trump has NOT postponed the 10% tariff on China and, given how so much of what Americans use comes from China, that means we will be seeing what is basically a 10% National Sales Tax on all those goods. China is a major supplier of medications so there may be a big spike in the cost of prescriptions and over-the-counter meds.

But food is probably the most sensitive item to tariff-driven price hikes because of very low mark-ups at markets and Canada and Mexico supply much of what we eat. Canada is a huge source of America’s grains and cereals. We get the majority of our fresh produce from Mexico. You WILL pay a 25% Trump Sales Tax on food if he decides to go ahead with his tariffs.

Economists are already saying that Trump's tariffs, if imposed as he promised, would amount to the largest tax increase in US history with the brunt of it falling on low income and middle-class families.

A couple of rarely discussed effects will also hit you in the pocketbook. One is supply-chain disruption as these dramatic tax hikes create chaos in the marketplace. Expect shortages, especially for meats, that will also crank up prices. Further, since the price of Canadian and Mexican food products will go up drastically, US food producers will see these tariffs as an invitation to boost their prices and profits.

Further, Trump’s deportation binge will remove many of the workers who grow and harvest American fields and also work in the packing and processing plants that prepare the food to go into the food chain. This will cause food rotting in the fields, shortages and price hikes.

You can do some stocking up to perhaps cushion some of the blow.

Using a freezer and dry storage, you can stock up on meats and seafood, nuts, coffee, chocolate, fruits and vegetables.

More than half of our red meats come from Canada. Vietnam and Mexico supply most of our nuts. Latin America and Canada supply most of our beans. We have virtually no domestic production of coffee or the cacao beans that make chocolate, although climate change may make it possible to grow coffee and cacao on the US mainland. 

A small amount of our coffee comes from Hawaii (Kona coffee) and a small growing region in Puerto Rico, but that’s only a tiny fraction of what Americans need. Cafe Bustelo is partly comprised of Puerto Rico beans but mostly coffee from Columbia and Guatemala. 

I’ve been accumulating a personal stockpile of coffee in the freezer for added freshness.

Dietitians say that canned or frozen fruits and vegetables are almost as nutritious as fresh, although there’s nothing like fresh for taste. And say goodbye to salads.

During the pandemic, we saw shortages and the beginning of the on-going food cost inflation. Some people bought a lot of flour but many lost their investment because of improper storage and deterioration when flour is stored at room temperature.

I wish there was a way to address the out-of-control prices of eggs, other than use substitutes. 

In addition to being subject to Trump's ill-advised economic practices, chicken and egg prices are sky-rocketing due to widespread bird (or avian) flu. If you are thinking of raising your own chickens, be aware that they are as susceptible to getting bird flu from wild birds as commercially grown chickens. 

There is no treatment or vaccine for bird flu. Standard practice has been to destroy entire flocks even if only one bird is infected. I don't expect the Trump regime to be any more effective at dealing with avian flu than they were in dealing with COVID. Heaven forbid they should launch a drive to find a vaccine. 

I do expect Trump to follow his COVID gameplan of denying there is a problem, promoting phony remedies, making up some conspiracy theories, covering up the science and statistics on the outbreak and generally let the disease take its toll. He is already gutting and censoring our country's tools to fight this and other diseases.

On that cheerful note, here’s a handy list of egg substitutes to get you started.

You should look at your household’s needs and do the research to see the best way to safely store the food.

Of course you can consider growing your own, though climate conditions limit the practical effect of an anticipated new wave of Victory Gardens.

This is what 49.9% of the voters voted for, despite very specific warnings. If you're angry about inflation, blame MAGA.