A South Carolina consumer electronics manufacturer is closing a plant with 126 employees as the Trump administration’s trade policies force companies to compensate for higher supply costs.
Winnsboro, S.C.-based Element Electronics attributed its move to President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, imposed earlier this year, according to The State newspaper. The company couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The White House has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods so far and is considering levies of the same amount on another $200 billion in products, up from a previously announced 10 percent. China, in response, is considering duties on an additional $60 billion in U.S. goods.
Separately, Trump has imposed across-the-board tariffs on steel and aluminum imports of 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Element hopes to re-open its plant in the next few months but said it “cannot predict this with any certainty at this time,” acording to the Columbia, S.C., newspaper. Layoffs are slated to begin in October.
Other South Carolina-based plants have also warned of the impact from tariffs, which have spurred retaliatory duties from China, the European Union, Mexico and other countries. Automakers Volvo and BMW have both said the polices may cost the companies thousands of jobs.
Despite the intense rhetoric, many large corporations continue to post sizable profits in the face of increasing raw material costs. But small manufacturers unable pass the costs on to customers through higher prices are resorting to other measures to blunt their impact.
Welded Tube, for example, said it eliminated 25 positions and reduced output as a result of both the U.S. metals tariffs and retaliation from the Canadian government.
