The owner of Noble Steel says that the biggest change he has put in place tight deadlines on customer estimates since the tariffs came into effect is that he has made his biggest change.
Chico, Calif. – Local businesses are beginning to feel the impact of new tariffs under President Donald Trump. This month, 25% tariffs were placed on imported steel and aluminum.
“From everything I hear from everyone who buys steel, I’m expecting it to continue to rise,” said the owner of Noble Steel Josh Noble.
Noble founded the company last May, and the company has gained traction. The company has done a variety of projects, but is known for building outdoor shade structures.
However, with new tariffs on imported steel, Noble says business is beginning to slow down, but it is still growing.
“It was a change. It was a shift. It’s been a bit slower, but overall, it’s still pretty good,” Noble said.
The US International Trade Agency says nearly a quarter of steel imports and more than half of aluminum imports that come to the US come from Canada. Noble says he receives supplies from all over the world.
“Many I-beams and others are domestic. That’s domestic products. The tubes are mostly either Vietnam or Korea,” Noble said. “My suppliers have been increasing letters to me, but I’ve got them every week now, so they’ve been actively raising prices.”
Noble says he is not opposed to them while business is beginning to feel the impact of tariffs. However, he wanted them to gradually take effect, so the company would have more time to adapt to price increases.
“I believe it will affect a lot of manufacturing in the country. It will benefit us in the long run. But if you think that if there are too many tariffs, it will actually shut down the project, then it will also actually slow the economy down, rather than actually helping us where we need to go,” Noble said.
Noble says that due to tariffs, the biggest change he made to his business was to implement deadlines on customer estimates. Obviously, this may vary depending on where other local steel manufacturers and distributors are importing their supply.
Noble says if you plan to do a project that includes Steel this year, he’s best to start now and get a quote as soon as possible.
Canada is issuing mutual dollar dollars on US steel and aluminum imports in response to a 25% tariff on all President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs.
