President Trump’s new tariffs spark concerns for Loves Park autoworkers

LOVES PARK, Ill. (WTVO) — Loves Park autoworkers expressed their concerns after President Donald Trump’s new tariffs were announced.

The president launched a 25% tariff on automobile imports in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

This raised concerns from the auto industry all across the country, including locally, at Tuffy Tire and Auto Service Center in Loves Park.

Owner and General Manager Jim Heim said he was anticipating the tariffs.

“Prices are going to increase [by] 25%, which of course, we’ll have to pass on to our guests because we need to cover our costs,” Heim said. “More guests are going to be in a hard spot choosing between food and fixing the car.”

A 25% tariff on automobile parts will go into effect on May 3rd. This directly affects Heim and his business, as he said over 50% of the parts he gets are from overseas.

“This is my livelihood,” Heim said. “If our guests can’t afford to repair their cars, I don’t have an income. It’s that simple.”

The tariff applies to the vast majority of cars on U-S roads, including American brands with foreign-made parts.

“More and more of our guests are taking advantage of our payment plans because they don’t have the unexpected money to do a repair that they didn’t plan for. So it’s just going to get worse in that respect.”

A baseline tariff of 10% is expected to go into effect on Saturday.

CEO of the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce Angela Kay Larson said she is anticipating a growing concern from local businesses across the area.

“Talk to your accountant, talk to your operations people, talk to the people purchasing goods and materials for your business,” Larson encourages. “Get everybody together and discuss it and come up with a plan.”

Larson said the Chamber will be hosting a table discussion on tariffs for businesses worried about their future.

Despite his concerns, Heim said he thinks the tariffs could be beneficial long term.

“I think in the long run, it’s actually going to be good,” Heim said. “Hopefully, manufacturing will come back to this country. That’s what this country was built on, was manufacturing. We need to have the ability in this country to manufacture the stuff that we need.”