Republican Mayor Braces for Tariffs: ‘We Didn’t Budget for This’
Mayor Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills, Michigan, says Trump’s Mexico and Canada tariffs will cause a hit to his city’s coffers — and its auto industry.
Bryan Barnett, mayor of Rochester Hills, Michigan, says he thinks his region will be one of hardest hit by President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Photographer: Carlos Osorio/AP PhotoThere’s long been a steady flow of workers, auto parts and supplies traveling between the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, Michigan, and Canada. Just 30 miles from Windsor, Ontario, the city of 76,000 relies on trade with the country to keep its automotive industry humming and its local infrastructure running.
So when US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, rocking the stock market and sparking retaliatory measures, Mayor Bryan Barnett says the move also made waves in Rochester Hills. As these tariffs loomed and since they’ve come into effect, Barnett has been talking to business leaders, other mayors in the US and Canada, and his own city staff about what these levies could mean for everything from the local job market to the local budget. Though there’s a deep sense of uncertainty around how long these tariffs might last, and how businesses will respond, one thing’s for sure, he said: “Prices are gonna change pretty dramatically, pretty quickly, and I think our region’s going to be one of the hardest hit.”