On a quick drive around the small Ohio town of Delta, you can spot nearly as many Trump flags as American stars-and-stripes banners. And at the petrol station near the Ohio Turnpike, the pumps bear relics of the last administration, with slogans slamming Trump’s predecessor: “Whoever voted for Biden owes me gas money!”
This is Trump country – the Republican ticket easily won here in November’s presidential election by a margin of almost two-to-one. And while the markets are in turmoil following Trump’s unveiling of expansive global tariffs this week, plenty of people in Delta and hundreds of Midwestern towns like it still back the president’s plans.
Those plans, to impose tariffs of between 10% and 50% on almost every country, have upended global trade and led to warnings that prices could soon rise for American consumers. Trump, meanwhile, has said the move will address unfair trade imbalances, boost US industry and raise revenue.
For some in Delta, the president’s argument about fairness resonates.
At the Delta Candy Emporium, which sits in the middle of the village’s Main Street, Mary Miller, a three-time Trump voter, believes other countries haven’t played fair on trade. And like many here, she prefers to buy American-made goods.
“I don’t want people in other countries to suffer, I really don’t,” Miller said. “But we need to have an even playing field.”
As she watches over her stock of multi-coloured confectionaries, many of them made in the US, and weighs up how they might be impacted by fresh import taxes, she recalls how decades ago she heard that one of her favourite brands was moving its factories abroad. She hasn’t bought another pair of Levi’s jeans since.
Miller is unfazed by the possibility of price increases, which many economists say these new tariffs will bring.
“Sometimes you have to walk through fire to get to the other side,” she said. “If tariffs bring companies and business back to hard-working American people like the ones who live here, then it’s worth it.”
Outside the restaurant, some Delta locals considered the possible upsides of these import taxes.
“Nobody’s frantic. We’re not going to lose any sleep over it,” said Gene Burkholder, who has a decades-long career in the agriculture industry.
Source link
