Tariff tension: Whether they love or hate Trump trade policies, businesses eager to dish about them

The top bosses at South Carolina manufacturers and some of the Port of Charleston’s biggest customers don’t always agree about the impact tariffs are having on the nation’s economy, but this much is certain: They’re all talking about them.

Import taxes imposed on foreign goods entering the U.S. and retaliatory tariffs other countries are placing on American-made products are dominating the conversation during the latest rash of earnings calls.

The Charlotte-bsed steelmaker, which has plants in Berkeley County and Darlington, reported its best second-quarter numbers in the company’s more than 50-year history. Profits more than doubled for the period, buoyed by 25 percent tariffs on imported steel — typically cheap metal from China dumped on the American market.

All in all, we’re very happy with tariffs, Ferriola told stock analysts.

Tom Hayes, on the other hand, isn’t so pleased. The Tyson Foods president said in a regulatory filing that the chicken and processed meat company will cut its full-year earnings expectations by as much as $1 per share because of trade worries.

https://www.postandcourier.com/business/tariff-tension-whether-they-love-or-hate-trump-trade-policies/article_c3ec9626-95b8-11e8-96fa-9726a71e17ff.html

Notable Baker