Well, that didn’t take long. New U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports went into effect at the end of March, and many manufacturers are already raising prices on equipment. Even though several countries were exempted from the 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum, including Mexico and Canada, the cost of metals started to increase almost immediately. As a result, manufacturers started raising prices on their equipment in April – anywhere from 2 to 12 percent -- and this will ultimately hurt consumers.
Even though Trump talked tough on trade before becoming president, the move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports came as a bit of a surprise. And since then, he has threatened to place an additional $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, including additional 25-percent tariffs on various HVACR components, including compressors, controls, and furnace burners. In retaliation, China is considering its own tariffs on American-made goods.