Tag: tariffs

Process for Tariff Refunds Started

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by LICA-National

A refund system for businesses that paid tariffs that the US Supreme Court ruled President Trump imposed without the constitutional authority to do so launched April 20. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency charged with administering the system, opened an online portal for importers to file their claims. CBP will be evaluating and refunding up to $175 billion in revenue collected from the now invalidated tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).


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Farm Assistance Plan Introduced

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by LICA-National

President Trump announced on December 8 a $12 billion farm aid package intended to support American farmers struggling with financial losses caused by trade wars, tariffs, and rising production costs. The aid package is designed to provide immediate relief to farmers who have faced declining export markets, particularly after China reduced purchases of U.S. soybeans and other crops in response to tariffs.


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Post Pandemic Construction Boom Cools – Inflation, Tariffs, Worker Shortage Impact Industry

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by LICA-National

Injections of federal funding, coupled with pent-up demand from the pandemic shutdowns, created a robust construction market in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, signs of market softening began and continues into 2025. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reports that its backlog indicator, which reflects the work commercial and industrial contractors have coming in the months ahead, shows a drop in monthly backlog from 8.9 months in 2023 to 8.3 months in 2024 and has fluctuated around that number throughout the first half of 2025.


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Tariffs Increasing Contractor Material Costs

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by LICA-National

The price of construction materials increased 0.5% in March, while nonresidential input prices climbed 0.6%, both unusually steep jumps, according to an analysis by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data as reported by Construction Dive. Both overall and nonresidential input prices are now 0.8% higher than a year ago and sit more than 40% higher compared to February 2020, largely due to a sharp rise in natural gas, steel, copper and lumber prices. The price escalations across the board reflect early impacts from tariffs and mark the third straight month of price jumps, said Anirban Basu, ABC chief economist. “Construction input prices increased at a rapid pace for the third consecutive month in March and have now risen at a 9.7% annualized rate through the first quarter of 2025,” said Basu.


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Construction Firms Confident About 2025!

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by LICA-National

Construction contractors are optimistic about certain private-sector segments and have high hopes for most types of public-sector work, according to survey results the Associated General Contractors of America and Sage released today. Yet they have very low expectations for several private-sector market segments, remain concerned about labor shortages and are worried materials prices will climb amid threats of new tariffs.


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Deere Chairman Talks Future Market Outlook

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by LICA-National

The chairman and CEO of Deere and Co., which has been the target of tariff threats by President-elect Donald Trump, on Thursday strongly defended his company’s record of manufacturing farm equipment in the United States and exporting it to other countries.

“We rely heavily on our highly skilled employees in the U.S.” to “design and build … the most technologically advanced equipment in the world. And as a result of that, greater than 75% of all products that we sell in the U.S. are assembled here in the U.S.," Deere Chairman and CEO John May said on the company's quarterly earnings call. May jumped in to answer a question about Trump's tariff threat when it came up on the call.


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