Back in 2018, the Trump administration enforced several rounds of tariffs to “defend American workers.” The administration imposed these tariffs on goods like solar panels and washing machines, as well as materials like steel and aluminum.

Now, five years later, the Biden administration has largely kept those tariffs in place. 

According to Gretchen Blough, a customs broker in Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S. manufacturers are more competitive in the market because of these tariffs. 

“These additional tariffs on everything, the additional duties on everything, gives the U.S. manufacturers a more level playing field,” she said. “The landed cost goes up on these imported goods, and therefore the U.S. manufacturer is able to better compete with them.”

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