Stability remains elusive for Georgia businesses as tariff deadlines pass
Georgia businesses for months have been driving through the fog of trade uncertainty as tariffs introduce new twists and turns in the road.
President Donald Trump’s latest wave of import taxes went into effect Thursday and applied to goods from more than 60 countries, including key Georgia trading partners in Canada, Asia and Europe. Companies that bring foreign goods into the U.S. pay the tax and must either absorb the taxes or pass on to American businesses and consumers.
The latest wave of tariffs provide some clarity for companies that rely on trade, shining some light in the fog that could improve confidence. But those levies — and the threat of more change to come with other vital trade partners like China and Mexico — still lurk in the haze.
“Tariffs pose significant challenges ahead with tremendous barriers remaining in place, especially in Europe and China,” the Georgia Chamber of Commerce wrote in a new report detailing the potential effects of new tariffs. “Businesses crave stability, and the current unpredictability poses significant challenges for the business community.”
In an effort to remake global trade, Trump has issued deadlines for countries to negotiate tariff rates before they go into effect. Dozens of countries have struck framework deals to negotiate lower tariff rates than initially threatened, but others remain unsettled.
Trump earlier this year announced trade duties of up to 145% on most Chinese goods, but settled on a lower figure as Washington and Beijing entered into a fresh round of talks.
On Monday, Trump announced he extended China’s tariff deadline by three months, staving off a large increase in duties between the globe’s two largest economies. China is also one of Georgia’s most valued trading partners, especially in agriculture and manufacturing.
The chamber’s report said a lack of an agreement with China “limits growth for some of Georgia’s top exports,” including the Peach State’s nation-leading poultry sector. Eric Hansotia, CEO of Duluth-based tractor maker AGCO, added that it’s a challenging environment for any company to plan new investments given the tidal wave of tariff-related changes to track.
“Uncertainty is still high, so until you can have clarity on where all of this is going to land, you don’t make long-term investments,” Hansotia said in a Monday interview.
AGCO, a Fortune 500 company, has a global footprint, especially in Europe and South America. Framework deals like those struck with the European Union to set tariffs at 15% on most goods provide some clarity but are far from a binding agreement, Hansotia said.
“In business, you know that what you agree to in a term sheet sometimes differs from what ends up being in the contract,” he said.
Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro research for ING bank, told The Associated Press it takes time for the aftershock of tariffs to ripple through supply chains and hit company’s balance sheets — or consumer’s pocketbooks. The Consumer Price Index, a key inflation indicator, increased 2.7% in July compared to a year prior, which is more than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2% but steady compared to recent months.
“While financial markets seem to have grown numb to tariff announcements, let’s not forget that their adverse effects on economies will gradually unfold over time,” Brzeski said.
Georgia is among the most exposed states, given its core industries that rely on trade. Georgia experienced a record amount of trade in 2024, bolstered by surging shipping volumes through the state’s ports.
Logistics is one of the state’s cornerstone industries, and it’s already beginning to feel the impacts of Trump’s efforts to remake global trade.
Harun Abdullahi, president of Clarkston-based Safari Transportation, said he’s downsized his fleet from 19 to 12 trucks since Trump returned to office, estimating a 60% drop in loads and monthly losses between $15,000 to $20,000.
He cited rising consumer prices and reduced freight volume as the primary reasons for the cut back. The last week of July, Abdullahi said he couldn’t find a single load for any of his trucks.
“If I’m going to go bankrupt, I wouldn’t start over,” said Abdullahi, a Somali native who has lived in Georgia since 2012. “And this situation, it looks like there’s no way (to) survive this economic destruction.”
Small businesses like Safari Transportation are more exposed to sudden shifts in demand or the underlying costs upon which they’ve built their profitability model, said Sina Golara, assistant professor of supply chain management at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business.
Elevated borrowing costs spurred by high interest rates, which the Federal Reserve has kept stable amid uncertainty over whether tariffs and other policies will spike inflation, further compound those issues.
“The Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady rather than lowering them, limiting consumers’ ability to offset higher product prices with cheaper financing,” Golara said. “… When combined with tariffs, (interest rate) pressures could contribute to a significant slowdown, forcing consumers to compromise and companies to consider layoffs.”
About the Authors
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
Gray Mollenkamp joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May 2025 as an intern on the politics team. He is majoring in International Relations and Legal Studies at Claremont McKenna College.
