INDIANAPOLIS— Indiana businesses are relieved that there is a pause on non-China tariffs, that’s according to a survey done by the Indiana Chamber.
“We have heard and continue to hear from businesses across Indiana about the uncertainty around tariffs,” said Vanessa Green Sinders, the CEO of the Indiana Chamber.
The Chamber put out a survey to gauge the level of concern around proposed tariffs to its member companies.
“We can do our part to put together some perspective on potential impact from the business community,” said Green Sinders.
More than 200 businesses participated in the survey and more continue to. From the respondents, 80% say they’re “concerned” about tariffs, 65% are “very concerned,” and 20% indicate they are neutral or have no concern.
The survey also took a look at the biggest concerns for companies— the top three are increased business costs, shrinking product and consumer market, and overall supply chain disruptions.
“It’s more scary because we don’t know what to tell our customers if something is a problem or it's going to be a problem,” said Heart Hurst, the managing partner for the Yard at North Mass as well as Heath Outdoor.
Heath Outdoor is a landscape construction and maintenance company and Yard at North Mass that offers a garden center, event space, dog park and soon a distillery and bar. With multiple companies, Hurst has been watching closely at what’s happening in Washington DC as tariff tensions continue to escalate.
“More importantly, we’re talking to the vendors that we buy from. We buy from trucking companies, and gravel pits, and lumber yards and all kinds of places,” said Hurst.
Hurst says they haven’t increased any prices yet but customers are changing their thinking.
“There’s some fear in the market. People are either doing jobs now like, Can you get mine done really really quick, or they’re saying I think I’m going to put it on hold for a while,” said Hurst.
The survey by the Indiana Chamber is still open. Green Sinders says it will help them better understand how they can support Indiana businesses during this period of uncertainty.
