Some businesses in Chicago have expressed concerns over President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to tax imported goods from Mexico and Canada, worried about what it will mean for future prices.

As the president continues trade negotiations on Mexico and Canada, the co-founder and co-owner of Hop Butch For The World is bracing for the potential impact of tariffs.

“I think one of the things a lot of breweries would agree on is that even sometimes the threat of price increases, whether it’s tariffs or not, can be enough to spook suppliers,” said Jeremiah Zimmer.

He told NBC Chicago he’s worried about the cost of supply and ingredients going up for his small business.

“We spend a lot of time as a brewery just trying to make sure that we’re not controlling prices but keeping them as in control as possible so that we can focus on making more beer and better beer rather than having to dial up prices to consumers,” said Zimmer.

Restaurant owners, who rely on imports of produce, fruits, and vegetables fear tariffs could ultimately hurt their bottom line.

“We’ve already dealt with increases in our food cost being up to 29 to 30 percent over the last few years, labor being up 39 percent,” said Scott Weiner, who is the co-owner of The Fifty/ 50 Restaurant Group. “We’ve raised prices so many times on the consumers that there’s nothing left to give.”

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Trump has proposed a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada. While the plan is currently on hold, the Trump administration has already hit China with a 10% tax on imported goods. Leaders in the commercial construction industry in Chicago are against the president’s plan.

“We are restricted when tariffs come about, when prices go up and supplies dwindle,” said Tom Cuculich, who is the executive director of the Chicagoland Associated General Contractors. “We hire over 10,000 skilled tradesmen for our jobs, we put billions of dollars into the economy every year and those projects are just not happening at the rate they should be.”

Senator Dick Durbin said Canada is the number one trading partner for the state of Illinois. He addressed the concerns from business and construction leaders, calling on Trump to change his course.

“My message to the Trump administration is when it comes to our economy here, import and exports from Canada and Mexico are critical to jobs in the United States and to consumers having affordable goods if they can buy at the store,” Durbin said. “Let’s be thoughtful whether it’s China or Canada or Mexico or any other country. Let’s think about our economy and how to make it stronger, creating good paying jobs for Americans along the way.”

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