CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin was on the City's North Side Friday talking with local businesses about the damaging impact of President Trump's proposed tariffs.
Durbin spoke at a local brewery in Chicago's North Center neighborhood about how Trump's tariff plan will hurt Illinois.
“If our major trading partners Canada, Mexico and China have a tax imposed on things that they send to the United States and things that they purchase in the United States, it’s going to hurt jobs in Illinois. It’s going to hurt businesses in Illinois,” Durbin said.
Jeremiah Zimmer, co-founder of the brewing company Hop Butcher for The World said there's a lot that goes into making and packaging beer, and the industry is nervous.
“I think everyone is in a wait and see mode right now, and everybody kind of wants to know like, ‘Hey, if your beer gets more expensive, how much more expensive is it going to be?’ I don’t know ,” Zimmer said.
Scott Weiner, owner of Fifty/50 Restaurant Group and chair of the Illinois Restaurant Association Board said costs will trickle down.
“If we have to continue raising prices on guacamole, tomato salads, whatever it might be, it just makes it less and less affordable for the typical consumer to be able to go out at all, let alone once a month or once a year for special occasions,” Weiner said.
The president has paused the tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month.
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