New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Supports Trump’s Tariff Measures Amid Business Challenges
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli has openly supported former President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy, despite the negative impact these measures are having on local New Jersey businesses.
In an interview on March 4, Ciattarelli described Trump’s tariffs as a “grand experiment” aimed at correcting trade imbalances and holding foreign nations accountable. “The president has told us that there’s going to be some pain, but he’s also told us that we’re not going to be pushed around … [and] not going to be exploited by foreign countries that don’t follow the rules and take advantage of our consumer markets,” Ciattarelli said. “We’re just going to buckle up and see how things go.”
However, small businesses like Fishtown, a seafood supplier in Haddonfield, are facing difficulties due to the uncertainty surrounding potential tariffs on Canadian imports, as reported by the Associated Press here. Fishtown’s owner, Bryan Szeliga, expressed his concerns, stating, “I’m a smaller business, and I’m not really staffed, equipped, and knowledgeable enough to know how to navigate tariffs. It is very hard to have that level of uncertainty. Are the tariffs going to be in play, or are they not?”
Szeliga mentioned considering the sale of lower-quality oysters to mitigate issues and even absorbed the tariff cost on Canadian oysters himself to shield customers from price hikes. Meanwhile, other businesses in the state are anticipating increased costs. For instance, a Mendham car dealership is projecting a $10,000 to $20,000 price increase on its inventory due to tariffs on automobiles and parts, as noted in a report.
Further compounding these challenges, liquor stores are preparing for price increases on European wines due to new tariffs. David Moore, co-founder of Moore Brothers Wine Company in Pennsauken, shared with WPVI News that they are attempting to stockpile inventory to buffer against short-term impacts. “We don’t know what to expect, except we are doing everything we can to bring in enough wine to make sure at least in the short term we’re protected,” Moore stated.
While Ciattarelli’s campaign emphasizes making New Jersey more affordable and supporting small businesses, the risk of retaliatory tariffs from other countries like China and Mexico—New Jersey’s primary trading partners—poses additional threats. China, for example, has retaliated with a 125% tariff on American goods, countering the 145% tariff imposed by Trump, as detailed here.
Efforts to obtain comments from Ciattarelli’s campaign were not immediately successful.
