business backgrounder | federal affairs
“ These tariffs will make acquiring critical materials even more of a challenge.”
— Steven Hallman, purchasing manager for Wohler Retrotec, a Whatcom County manufacturer of building diagnostic tools.
Washington employers on tariffs: concerned about negative impacts
have experienced direct impacts
Carstens Inc. is a small, family-owned wholesaler that sells rustic home décor to gift shops around the country. The Burlington-based company halted all overseas production and shipments after steep U. S. tariffs began in early April. The 145 % tariff on China would have raised a $ 40 bed set to $ 100— an increase the company couldn’ t pass on to customers, said owner Roger Parkinson, who runs Carstens with wife, Michelle.
“ Every week that goes by is just a week closer to running out of inventory and having to lay off our employees, which is a huge issue,” Parkinson said. The business doesn’ t want to lose the employees it has trained and invested in.
In May, the U. S. and China agreed to a temporary pause on most tariffs as the countries continue trade negotiations. The U. S. cut the tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145 % to 30 % for an initial period of 90 days.
Even if tariffs are rolled back, Parkinson said businesses can expect to see pandemic-era global Trade in Washington supply chain disruptions, such as port congestion and higher shipping costs.
“ As a business, you want to be able to plan for tomorrow, but no billion in agricultural exports. one knows what tomorrow is going to bring,” Parkinson said.
AWB’ s spring 2025 employer survey found 72 % of Washington employers are concerned about the negative effects of tariffs
Washington exported $ 58 billion in goods all over the world in 2024, making the state the eighth largest state exporter. That includes about $ 7.6
Washington’ s top trading partners by combined value of imports and exports are Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. About 40 % of Washington jobs are connected to international trade.
or retaliatory tariffs on their business, with 48 % reporting direct impacts. In the survey, which had about 450 respondents, 76 % said tariffs have raised the cost of inputs and nearly half( 45 %) said tariffs have caused supply chain disruptions. The increasing tariff worries were coupled with growing fears of a recession, a sharp increase from AWB’ s winter survey.
In the survey, 58 % of manufacturing respondents reported direct tariff impacts.
“ We expect to have significant impact both on suppliers and with sales to customers,” said Gordon Bluechel, CEO of Access Laser. The Everett manufacturer makes specialized CO2 lasers for advanced manufacturing and research, exporting 96 % of its products to Germany, China, Japan, Canada and multiple other countries.
Access Laser expects to pay more for imported materials such as machined parts and circuit board assemblies. The company aims to shift to U. S.-based suppliers where possible, but not if it means breaking ties with key trusted suppliers from other countries.
“ Overall increased costs will hurt our profitability and make us less competitive as a direct result of the tariffs,” Bluechel said.
As countries respond with retaliatory tariffs, international customers have halted orders from U. S. manufacturers like Access Laser.“ We are expecting the
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