With a backdrop of activity at the Port of San Diego, San Diego lawmakers and business leaders gathered at Cesar Chavez Park Pier Wednesday to speak out against President Trump’s tariffs.
“Tariffs are an additional tax paid by importers and consumers for products manufactured abroad. The higher the tariff, the higher the tax, and the more money Americans pay,” said Rep. Scott Peters, D-CA 50.
Behind him stood several people holding signs saying, “Trump’s tariffs will cost the average San Diego household nearly $2,400 a year — According to the nonpartisan Yale Budget Lab.”
President Trump talked tariffs in the presidential campaign, and by April, he had started talking numbers. Since then, they’ve been a moving target; on and off with plenty of pauses and delays.
But as of Aug. 1, tariffs went into effect on many of America’s trading partners. Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-CA 51, said the tariffs are hurting San Diego workers — from those on the dock, to those on the farm.
“Every container that doesn't come in means fewer shifts, less overtime, less take-home pay for our workers. For our cross-border manufacturing sector, tariffs on steel, aluminum and electronics don't just raise costs for the companies. They slow down production, delay shipments, and reduce hours for workers,” said Jacobs.
Dan Clark was one of the business leaders who spoke at the news conference. He founded his San Diego company, Dan Clark Audio, in 2012. They make high-end headphones. Clark talked about the effect the tariffs will have on his small business, which sells headphones locally and in 90 countries around the world.
“Domestically, our prices will rise and demand will fall, which then means we have to produce fewer products and it means jobs are at risk. Internationally, the situation’s even worse … We’re currently paying 50% more for our parts and products than any of our competitors in the world would have to pay for the exact same thing,” Clark said.
Representatives from a local trade group along with the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce had similar dire predictions. All this while a federal appeals court weighs the finding of the Court of International Trade, which found that Trump’s tariffs are illegal.
If the appeals court agrees, the next and final stop is the U.S. Supreme Court.
We reached out for comment to the only Republican in San Diego’s congressional delegation, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA 48, but we didn’t hear back by our deadline.
