Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | July 23, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 9 Trade war is a mixed bag Northbridge wire manufacturer Riverdale Mills and Maynard telecommunications parts maker Acacia Communications have said actions on trade by the Trump Administration – including a 25-percent tariff on steel and temporarily banning a Chinese company from purchasing American products – is hurting their bottom line. When polled online, WBJ readers were split almost exactly down the middle on whether it would have a positive impact on their business. F L AS H P O L L "This needs to be done." COMMENTS: How do you think Trump's trade war impacts your business? We will have to overhaul our business plan to adjust to these anti-globalization measures. "Unlike previous administrations/ presidents, President Trump knows how to negotiate and negotiate he will, and in the long run we (U.S. businesses) will benefit from his business acumen." "While we're not manufacturers, I believe the tariffs will have a general negative drag on the economy and to some degree affect everyone." It will hurt in the short term but we will ultimately benefit from a focus on American- made products. 29% We will see benefits immediately as foreign competition is curtailed. 10% 13% over the next five years. "Member employers are deeply con- cerned about a potential trade war with China and with key U.S. trading part- ners such as Canada, Mexico and the European Union," President and CEO Richard Lord said in a press release announcing the drop in confidence. e tariffs not only impact the cost of raw materials, but the ability to sell to and expand in countries like China, which is implementing tariffs of its own on U.S. goods, said Christopher Geehern, executive vice president of marketing and membership at AIM. "By far the most important is the rising raw material prices and supply chain disruptions," Geehern said. With virtually no steelmakers in Massachusetts, the steel tariff has no benefit to the state, Geehern said. He said metal cutting and fabrication shops in the state are getting hit partic- ularly hard. AIM member companies have reported steel or aluminum price increases of more than 100 percent, Geehern said. Despite the uncertainty and rising raw material costs, Swissturn is opti- mistic the company won't have to lay off employees or reduce it capacity, as the firm stays busy with customer projects, Mandile said. Tariffs "make it hard to predict what your costs are going to be," he said. Lampin employee Darin Bazinet works with the company's bar stock feeder. The company is locked into prices for its finished goods for existing customer contracts but has sought to increase quotes when new contracts come along. W It won't impact us at all. 15% The resulting trickle-down price increases on products like steel will hurt our profitability. 29% PHOTOS/EDD COTE

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