Marcia Frieze, whose company, Case Medical in Bloomfield, buys sheet metal, mainly to manufacture steel and aluminum boxes for sterile medical instruments, is already preparing for President-Elect Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on the U.S.’s three biggest trading partners. Trump has threatened 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and another 10% on China.
The sheet metal used by Case Medical is U.S.-sourced and Frieze bought enough to last through next year but said she’s worried about 2026. She’s concerned about two Case Medical contracts with Canada and said she’s trying to shield her 170 workers from layoffs.
“Everybody’s going to get hurt. Our customers are going to have delays … You know, that pain trickles down from the industry to the people that are working,” she explains.
Frieze remembers running out of raw material during the first Trump administration’s trade war with China. It cost Case Medical 15% to 20% off its bottom line. Part of the problem, Frieze said, is Trump’s unpredictability.
“The whole thing is a little messy right now and we don’t have a clear-cut picture. So part of it is meant to be like a negotiating ploy as well,” said Parul Jain, an associate professor in the Finance and Economics Department at Rutgers University Business School. Trump is using tariffs as a lever to control issues beyond trade, like immigration and drug smuggling.
But the result, Jain said, is “It is going to raise inflation rates in the United States, so consumers are definitely going to end up paying a lot more. The firms are fully expecting to pass on the price increases to the consumer.”
A 10% tariff could raise taxes on goods by $1,500 a year for the typical U.S. household. Some businesses have urged people to buy now before tariffs drive up costs.
“I understand why tariffs are popular in some circles. But I also think free trade is very important for our economy, especially our New Jersey economy,” said Chris Emigholz, vice president of government affairs at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “And I do worry about anything that might make the cost of free trade more expensive.” He said a more nuanced tariff policy could bring some benefits, if it gets nations to the bargaining table.
