Gary Merrill, the CEO of Maine-based Hussey Seating, has said that Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum are hurting the company. Merrill is asking Maine’s governor and Congress to remove Canada from the Section 232 tariffs.
Merrill noted that surging costs from both domestically sourced steel and Canadian steel tariffs are seriously affecting his company. The firm’s revenues were based on pre-tariff pricing as 50 percent of projects are at fixed prices. Merrill further noted that the lack revenue is not only a complain about profits but the negatively affects the firm’s ability to reinvest to keep up with updated technology and try to grow.
Merrill also noted that the price increases for domestic and Canadian steel are actually creating a competitive advantage for foreign manufacturers to take market share as tariffs are on input steel and aluminum products not on finished goods.
Hussey Seating develops and manufactures seating for sports, entertainment, education, and worship markets. It employs 300 people and has annual sales of $100 million.