Introduction to Memorial Day and Tariffs
Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of the summer, but this year it can also start a season with higher prices. Small companies that sell beer, fireworks, and other summer essentials told CNN that they are dealing with higher costs due to the Trump administration’s tariffs on almost all imports to the USA last month.
What Could Cost More – and What Could Cost Less
While many economists expect prices to increase from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, it is certainly true that not all articles have recorded price increases yet. In fact, the US inflation slowed down to the lowest rate for more than four years in April. This means that some summer products can still be spared from an inflationary squeeze when the tariffs work through the economy, said Ernie Tedeschi, the former chief economist of the White House Council of Economic Adviser during the Biden administration and the business director of the budget laboratory at Yale University, which has an impact on the consumers of the tariff effects.
Impact on Food and Grills
However, if you plan a cookout, tariff-induced price increases could affect your food bill earlier than other price increases. "Dislocated goods such as food are imports that turn around faster," said Tedeschi. "The price you see at a certain point in time reflects the tariffs." The cost of buying a new grill to grill the food could still be stable, he said. "Where the tariffs are more delay, things like durable goods like a grill or grill are," said Tedeschi. "The reason for this is that retailers such as Home Depot and Best Buy in general still have a big predicament before the tariff. You will probably first sell before you sell the tariff goods that cost more."
Impact on Beer
Another important ingredient for most grill evenings was also not spared tariffs: beer. In April, President Donald Trump put a tariff of 25% on imported aluminum and steel, including empty aluminum doses and imported canned beer. According to the Brewers Association, a trading association for brewers, around 38.5% or 16.1 million barrels of imported beer came in cans. Even a local brewer-based brewer feels the cost pressure. Sheila Malone, manager at Long Ireland Beer Company in Riverhead, New York, told CNN that increasing expenses have made the future of her business unsafe.
Impact on Fireworks
The Memorial Day weekend also starts the busy season for fireworks companies. Douglas Burda, CEO of Red Apple Fireworks, said the majority of fireworks come from China, which has been producing fireworks for hundreds of years. There are very few companies that produce fireworks in the USA, Burda noted. On April 10, the tariffs rose to almost all Chinese imports, including fireworks, by 145% as a trade conflict between China and the United States. About a month later, the Trump government announced that the tax on Chinese imports would be temporarily reduced to 30%.
Impact on Gas Prices
However, there can be a place where you can find savings if you are one of the almost 40 million Americans driving by car on this Memorial Day. The national average price of a gallon of gas is expected to be $3.08 at Memorial Day, according to forecasts published by the fuel-saving platform GasBuddy. This is the lowest gas price for the Memorial Day weekend since 2021.
Impact on American Flags
For many Americans, Memorial Day is more than pool parties and picnics. It is a day that remembers people and remembers the people who died while serving the US military. Americans who may want to buy an American flag on this holiday weekend will find it more difficult to find cheaper flags this year, said Reggie Vandenbosch, who works at Valley Forge Flag Company, one of the largest American flag manufacturers. This is because a large shipping loophole, called de-minimis exemption, which made it possible for deliveries of goods worth $800 or less to enter the US duty-free, was closed at the beginning of this month. Now these cheaper shipments are taxed between 30% and 54%. Before the loophole was closed, e-commerce websites such as Amazon were flooded with cheaper flags that claimed to be American. "Many Americans do not consider an American flag as an American flag when it is made offshore," said Vandenbosch. "Now that the de-minimis loophole has been removed, we are already starting to see the return on sales on these platforms again to the domestic players."
