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Rhetoric vs. Policy: Kansas City-area experts analyze Trump's trade war, smalls businesses adapt

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Trump Tariff

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — President Donald Trump announced he is pausing an effort imposing 25% tariffs on goods made in Canada and Mexico.

The administration intends to move forward, imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese made products on Tuesday.

"The challenge is separating our president's political rhetoric, campaign rhetoric from actual policy goals," said Larry Wigger, a professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. "Take that a step further, separating policy goals from negotiation tactics. Things like tariffs, the goal isn't really to affect the value of trade but to influence other countries to help us protect our borders or stop the flow of illegal drugs."

Larry Wigger
Larry Wigger

The UMKC Professor says he is following the Trump Administration's trade war through a psychological lens.

Wigger says the American people view Trump as a "business man" and the title can mean a number of things.

"When we say businessman, a lot of people think a manager, right? Leading an organization. I think of Trump as more of a speculative real estate developer. There's a difference if you're managing something," Wigger said. "You're in it long-term, managing processes that are ongoing, and so you must provide stability when it comes to your supply chain and the movement of things, whereas his business experience was as a speculative real estate investor. It's project-based or short-term. You're trying to extract the best deal on a specific thing in a specific time frame."

Examining Trump's plan poses challenges for Wigger. He says it presents an unclear time frame for consumer impact of trade wars.

Trump Tariff
The Trump Administration threatens tariffs with three U.S international trade partners.

"Don't expect that if something goes through tomorrow night [Tuesday] that the next day what they're paying at the pump or at the grocery store is reflecting some tariff," he said. "It's going to take some time."

According to experts, tariffs would impact consumers in the final products price, including the inflated cost of individual components by tariff. It's fair to expect inflated prices on tariff imposed countries in the future as markets begin to show the impact.

KSHB 41 spoke with shoppers in Kansas City on Monday.

Bob Sparks said he's not worried about Trump's trade war, stating many tariffs impact the short term and would bring equality in the trade marketplace. Sparks says temporary inflation does bother him.

Bob Sparks
Bob Sparks

"Well, you take a shot, you expect a fever before you get better," Sparks said. "It’s kind of an instrument to bring them [trade partners] to the table and create a little bit of fairness between the tariffs. I think once that occurs, things will settle down a little bit.”

KSHB 41 caught up with Brett Goodwin, Owner of The Learning Tree Toy Store in Prairie Village, Kansas.

The specialty shop owner says many of the stores products are made outside in a variety of countries.

The Learning Tree stocks its shelves by working with 200 different vendors. Cost remains a top priority for Goodwin as he navigates international trade tariffs.

Made in China
Products in The Learning Tree with "Made in China" label.

"We always try to have prices that are really competitive — that can be tough," Goodwin said. "We're a local business. We pay local rent and pay local employees."

Goodwin told KSHB 41 he is already planning for the holiday season, the store's biggest time of year.

"Some things we're already expecting arrive and we hope that those arrive on and are manufactured on time," he said. "If that becomes a question, I need to be able to plan for it. We work with vendors who are headquartered right here in Kansas City and lots of vendors across the U.S., Europe and Asia. It is a complex system. We all work together to get those products."

Brett Goodwin
Brett Goodwin

The Learning Tree partners with other independent toy stores to bundle product supply, alleviating cost to its business and the customers.

"Price is always a challenge," Goodwin said. "We can share in those costs. That drives it down sometimes and we always just do our best. Most of the vendors we work with really want to support the specialty industry and we're very happy about that.”

President Trump's 10% tariff plan with China is set to begin on Tuesday.


KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.