Good afternoon –
Growth slowed in the third quarter, with the numbers showing tariffs and the uncertainty created by the trade war have caused business investment to contract. Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton best summed up the news, saying:
“Businesses don’t know where to place their bets and don’t know where to invest when they don’t know where the next tariffs are going to come from. That’s been one of the biggest weights on the U.S. economy.”
Small business owners, other analysts and experts agree:
“As business owners, we’re all a little bit scared of tariffs. China is a huge part of the global economy and the only place where some parts can be made.”
Grady Cope, President of Reata Engineering
“President Trump’s trade war is doing significant damage to the economy.”
Mark Zandi, Chief Economist At Moody’s Analytics
“The Trump Administration’s trade war with China has eroded business confidence, contributing to the second straight quarterly contraction in business investment.”
“Rattled by the uncertainty of Trump’s trade wars and a global economic slowdown, business investments tumbled the most in nearly four years, according to the report.”
“The White House’s aggressive trade tactics, especially the back-and-forth tariff battle with China, have been a drag on business sentiment, with executives expressing concern in surveys and earnings calls.”
“The trade deficit, which has widened as Chinese retaliatory tariffs have hurt farm sales, trimmed GDP growth by about 0.1 percentage-point in the third quarter.”
“The festering trade war with China has disrupted supply lines, raised raw material costs, hurt exports and made companies hesitant to spend.”
And, as Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi points out, President Trump isn’t doing himself any favors either:
“So ironically, the president’s trade war is doing the most damage to the economies of those states that will matter most to his reelection bid.”
If you are interested in speaking with a company that has been impacted by tariffs and the trade war, please don’t hesitate to reach out.