President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum on Wednesday is being hailed by some steel manufacturers in New Hampshire, while other businesses say it will harm their bottom lines and drive up consumer prices.
The tariffs are the latest volley in an escalating trade war that Trump says is aimed at growing American industry, despite the shockwaves it is sending through global markets and raising fears of a recession.
But what these import taxes may mean for the local economy – or even how long they may remain in place, given the speed at which Trump has been amending global trade policies – is unclear.
“Really for both consumers and businesses, uncertainty is not a good thing,” said Mike Skelton, president of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire. “And it's going to change behaviors out in the economy.”
In the short-term, though, the tariffs are likely to benefit domestic steel producers, who cheered the implementation of the tariffs.
“Canada has decimated our markets,” said Hollie Noveletsky, CEO of Seacoast-based Novel Iron Works, which manufactures steel beams and other building materials. She praised the tariffs, saying that for too long local infrastructure projects such as schools, bridges and hospitals have relied on imported steel.
“You think about all those public dollars that are meant to stimulate our economy by reinvesting in our infrastructure, are going out of the country and investing in foreign countries,” said Noveletsky, who ran for Congress in New Hampshire as a Republican in 2024.
She said since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect in the mid-1990s, steel production in the U.S. has been undercut by Canadian imports due to favorable exchange rates and what she described as subsidies for foreign producers.
The new tariffs will give her company a pricing advantage over her foreign competitors, she said, allowing her to ramp up production and possibly grow her current staff of 85 people. Noveletsky also downplayed what higher costs for steel will mean for construction projects.
“It's short sighted to say that it's costing the community more, because in the long run, we're reinvesting that money into the community,” she said.
But those higher prices, and the fear of retaliatory tariffs, are creating headaches at other New Hampshire manufacturers, including Hitchiner Manufacturing in Milford.
“It's been very frustrating," said John Morrison, the company’s executive vice president.
Hitchiner manufactures precision parts for the aerospace, defense and automotive industries.
While the company doesn’t rely on direct steel or aluminum imports subject to the newly announced tariffs, Morrison said demand for the industries he supplies parts to will be negatively affected by price increases on finished products, such as cars and planes.
“Having to pay 10 to 25% more for a vehicle is definitely going to negatively impact demand, which ultimately trickles down to us,” he said.
He said the Trump administration’s “willy-nilly” approach to trade policy harms long-range planning for the company, which has been in operation for more than 75 years. Hitchiner employs 1,200 people, including around 650 in New Hampshire.
“We live in a global economy at this point, like it or not, and sort of disrupting that ultimately has negative impacts on business in the U.S.,” he said.
