Georgia businesses that rely on steel and aluminum will face higher costs after import taxes on these metals were doubled to 50% on Wednesday.
This all comes within a week following a trade court blocking a bulk of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. Then, an appeals court decided to keep them in effect while the White House continues to fight the ruling. Both sides have until next week to respond.
Construction companies, automakers and beverage manufacturers in the state are caught in the middle of a trade war filled with plenty of back-and-forths.
Earlier this year, Coca-Cola’s CEO said that if cans become too expensive, the company will pivot away from aluminum and use more plastic and glass packaging. But other companies may not be able to pivot as easily.
Tariff increase could affect Georgia construction, manufacturing
Georgia economists say Trump’s 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum could disrupt several industries in the state.
“There is construction that will be impacted. A massive portion of every building’s cost is due to steel and aluminum,” said Sina Golara. He is an assistant professor of Supply Chain and Operations Management at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.
After the White House’s tariff announcements, U.S. steel and aluminum companies raised their prices. Golara says companies have been buying from China for years.
“And then they suddenly lose access to most of the supply, or they have to tolerate a 50% increase in their cost of goods, which is probably going to erode any profit margin,” said Golara.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the United States is the world’s largest steel importer, excluding the European Union. In 2024, more than 26 million metric tons of steel were purchased from about 80 countries and territories, including Canada, Mexico and China. Canada also supplies us with most of our aluminum.
“Perhaps there was a way to incentivize or improve or invest in domestic production without blocking all those foreign imports so that the U.S. production could be more competitive and could be helped in a more gradual way,” said Golara.
“It does not seem like inflation is going to go away. I’m not sure how it could when we know prices are going to increase because of these tariffs.”
Katie Deutschler with Moore Colson CPAs and Advisors.
Marty Parker is a small business owner and supply chain expert at the University of Georgia. He says these import taxes could slow down domestic manufacturing.
“Cars is the biggest one that comes to mind, but all kinds of machines and equipment for manufacturing, for farming, for all kinds of industries are made in Georgia,” said Parker.
Parker says consumers and companies should hope for another pause.
“I can’t think of any benefits. Tariffs have all kinds of negative impacts, the biggest being price increases,” said Parker.
“It’s going to just continue to compress margin. And just with all the uncertainty leading up to the election this past year, I’m an auditor, and a lot of my clients already had very compressed margins,” said Katie Deutschler. She works with Moore Colson CPAs and Advisors.
“I can’t think of any benefits. Tariffs have all kinds of negative impacts, the biggest being price increases.”
Marty Parker, small business owner and supply chain expert at the University of Georgia.
The 90-day pause on the sweeping global reciprocal tariffs is set to end next month.
“It does not seem like inflation is going to go away. I’m not sure how it could when we know prices are going to increase because of these tariffs,” said Deutschler.
Atlanta businesses reveal how the uncertainty is affecting them
Local businesses and community groups are adapting.
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta says inflation remains above the 2% target, as the labor market shows signs of slowing.
The Fed on Wednesday invited several Atlanta businesses to share how economic uncertainty is affecting them.
Lily Henson works for Piedmont Healthcare. She’s concerned that the state doesn’t have enough healthcare providers to take care of patients.
“We all know that there is a significant nursing shortage, not just here in Georgia, but across the country,” said Henson.
Henson says that at the same time, expenses are going up, not just in terms of salaries, but also the price of supplies.
“We’re concerned that with potential tariffs being implemented, a lot of the supplies, drugs, equipment that we use in health care are imported from other countries. That will have a significant impact on our bottom line,” said Henson.
Some companies are hitting the brakes on new hires to manage costs. Amelia Nickerson is the CEO of First Step Staffing.
“What used to be about three months to get new business, get new people on the door is easily eight months now on average in order to get new jobs open,” said Nickerson.
Her nonprofit supports men and women experiencing barriers to workforce reentry like homelessness, those impacted by the criminal justice system, and veterans.
“We’ve seen primarily in the light industrial manufacturing spaces reductions in headcount, a current slowdown on spending as people are concerned or facing tariffs already. So that would affect their spending,” said Nickerson.
Kyle Waide heads the Atlanta Community Food Bank. He says lines at food pantries across Atlanta are just getting longer.
“We are serving today 60% more people than we did three years ago. I think obviously inflation is a key driver of that growth,” said Waide.
He says spending more money on gas, groceries, housing and healthcare continues to put enormous pressure on families across the community.
