Local manufacturers unlikely to experience relief from effects of tariffs despite SCOTUS decision

WASHINGTON - Despite a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) regarding President Donald Trump’s power to impose tariffs, Ohio’s manufacturers have already suffered a blow that will be difficult to recover from.

On Feb. 20, SCOTUS determined the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant the president the ability to unilaterally impose tariffs of indefinite scope, according to a 6-3 ruling by SCOTUS.

The use of the IEEPA in such a manner by the Trump administration represents a “transformative expansion of the president’s authority over tariff policy,” one which lacks any sort of historical precedent, SCOTUS argued.

On April 22, 2025, Trump announced that a baseline tariff of 10% would go into place on imports from all countries on April 5, 2025. Meanwhile, imports from Canada and Mexico would be subject to a 25% tariff, as previously reported by The Messenger.

In addition to these tariffs, Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs targeting individual nations for unfair trade practices would go into effect on April 9, 2025, though these tariffs were later paused for 90 days after being announced.

Under the IEEPA, the president has the authority to regulate a variety of economic activities following a declaration of national emergency.

However, such authority only extends to that which has been explicitly delegated to the president by Congress under the IEEPA, as it is Congress that maintains power over taxation under the U.S. Constitution, SCOTUS argued.

More than 1,000 companies have filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade to recoup the cost of tariffs, including giants such as FedEx, Costco and Revlon, according to a report by the Associated Press.

One estimate from the University of Pennsylvania determined that IEEPA tariffs represented half of total customs duties and reversing these tariffs could generate up to $175 billion in refunds.

An attempt by the Trump administration to delay the implementation of SCOTUS’ ruling was subsequently rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to a report by CBS News.

Despite the possibility of relief in the future, the Trump administration’s tariffs have already had a significant impact on the manufacturing sector in Ohio.

While the Trump administration argued tariffs were necessary to shield domestic manufacturing from foreign competition and encourage reshoring, only 9% of Ohio’s manufacturers have brought production back to the U.S., according to a report by the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET).

While the tariffs did result in some production returning from China, the shift was “largely reactive and unplanned” and produced “mixed and asymmetrical outcomes.”

Meanwhile, one-third of manufacturers reported tariffs had an impact on their sales, with average losses being nearly twice the size of average gains, MAGNET said.

MAGNET’s findings are consistent with the trends observed in local manufacturing by the Athens County Economic Development Council (ACEDC).

Though the tariffs have incentivized manufacturers from outside the U.S. to consider building U.S. plants, these benefits will take years to be realized, Mollie Fitzgerald, the executive director of the ACEDC, explained.

“We definitely got more calls than we typically do from companies outside of Ohio and outside of the U.S. contemplating establishing plans for operation in the States as a result of tariffs,” Fitzgerald said. “But those [factories] aren’t going to be [built] overnight.”

While some local manufacturers have benefitted from tariffs by becoming more competitive with foreign imports, most manufacturers in the area are struggling to find new suppliers without drastically increasing costs, Fitzgerald explained.

One local manufacturer that was negatively impacted by tariffs is QuickLoadz, a manufacturer of automated container trailers and electrified truck chassis based in The Plains.

As a result of the tariffs, the price of the steel needed to manufacture QuickLoadz’s products increased by 50%.

While the cost of imported steel has climbed, domestic steel producers have also taken advantage of the tariffs and raised their prices to match, Sean Jones, the founder and CEO of QuickLoadz, explained.

The company also ended up losing most of its Canadian trailer orders due to tariffs, with Canadian customers turning to domestic trailer manufacturers.

Furthermore, the tariffs came at an inopportune time for the trucking industry, which has been in a prolonged slump since 2022, Jones said.

In some cases, suppliers of components that QuickLoadz uses for its trailers and truck chassis have stopped shipping their products to the U.S. as a result of the tariffs, forcing the company to find alternative suppliers.

The main impact of the tariffs on QuickLoadz and other small manufacturers has been introducing uncertainty into the equation, making it difficult for manufacturers to engage in long-term planning, Jones explained.

“Who's going to invest a billion dollars into building a plant when our policy is all over the place? Who's going to spend the money that's required for that infrastructure when you just don't know if the support is going to be there? You can’t justify it,” Jones said.

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