Truckers brace for impact of Trump's tariffs

LOS ANGELES (NewsNation) — As President Trump postpones 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Mexico for a month amid widespread fears of the impact of a broader trade war, American truckers are waiting to see what happens next for their industry.

Truckers tell NewsNation they’re bracing for major changes without a clear roadmap, and the American Trucking Association is warning the Trump administration of unintended consequences.

There's a lot of anxiety throughout the supply chain, and truckers are key to getting all consumer items to your door. While there's a new reprieve from Mexico, tariffs have kicked in for Canada. Some truckers say they’re turning around at the U.S.-Canada border to avoid that new 25 percent payment at customs.

“There's a lot of anxiety about what the next day will bring,” said Greg Dubuque, a third-generation trucker.

Like many others in the industry, he’s worried over an uncertain future, but things continue to roll at Liberty Linehaul West Trucking, which has been transporting goods between the U.S. and Canada for decades. Clothing, produce and all kinds of items were already on the move before the tariffs kicked in, so companies are beginning to pay up In order to keep business projects and perishable products in the pipeline.

Nearly half of all U.S. imports come from Mexico, Canada and China. In the short term, unwinding the process would be costlier than paying the new U.S. tariffs for nearly 3 million American truckers.

“We need to keep our wheels rolling, that's for sure, and ruling with good customer freight that pays the bills,” said Dubuque. “And if that's not there, that would really hurt our industry in the short term.”

Dubuque said if his fleet of 40 truckers were stopped just for a day, the cost would be “in the neighborhood” of $50,000.

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