GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Following President Donald Trump's visit to Michigan Tuesday, new numbers released Wednesday show the U.S. gross domestic product shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, as President Trump's tariffs continue to spark concerns among economists.
While the tariff changes have created confusion in the financial world, Trump said on Tuesday that places like Grand Rapids will benefit from his policies.
Trump placed a 10% tariff on all imported goods, plus 25% tariffs on imported cars auto parts, and steel and aluminum.
Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, admits some industries will benefit, but is skeptical about how long that will last.
"You certainly will be able to point out firms that are benefit from this, but it's also going to be easy to point out firms that are being negatively impacted by this," Miller said.
Trump announced a new order Tuesday to lessen the tariffs on certain imports for automakers over the next two years, capping their import taxes at 25%. While Miller says that's a slight sign of relief, he's concerned how long it could take for automakers to see positive gains.
"A plant would not come online; if you announced it today, it would not be producing vehicles in scale until at least 2029 at best," Miller explained.
He admits that he's "very skeptical" that the policies will bring a great return for manufacturing.
"Because we don't have any real evidence that policies like this necessarily work out," Miller admitted.
According to a CBS News poll, 70% of Trump supporters say the economy is improving, while results from all respondents show 72% of them think the economy is getting worse or is still about the same. Just 28% say it's getting better.
The Director for the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University, Matt Grossmann, admits Trump has made a lot of moves, but says it doesn't seem like it's had a positive impact.
"He'll want to tout all the action, it's not clear that the action has increased his support," Grossmann explained.
Economists are now waiting to see if Trump will change planned reciprocal tariffs, which are set to begin in July.
Miller says if those aren't adjusted, it could lead to higher prices and less variety of products at the grocery store come June or July, potentially impacting back-to-school shopping.
"It doesn't mean there's going to be rampant shortages, but it means you're not going to get the choice that you got otherwise because importers are only going to bring in products that they know they can sell," Miller said.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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