On Thursday, I continued my “Trump Tariff Tour” with a stop in Rockford, Illinois, where I visited a warehouse for Milescraft, a second-generation, family-owned manufacturer of power tool accessories. During my visit, I spoke with Milescraft CEO Simon Karkosch and his employees about the harmful impacts President Donald Trump’s blanket tariffs are having on Illinois businesses and families. Milescraft, like many other small manufacturers, has already been forced to lay off employees due to dramatically rising costs caused by these tariffs.
These blanket tariffs aren’t targeting bad actors or protecting American jobs. Instead, they’re raising prices, slashing margins, and threatening the very businesses and workers that keep our local economies going. For example, Illinois imports more than $82 billion worth of goods from Canada and Mexico, our two largest trading partners. President Trump's tariffs risk destabilizing those relationships and driving up costs for consumers and producers alike. Yale University’s Budget Lab estimates that these tariffs have already raised consumer prices by 2.3 percent, costing the average household $3,800 per year.
I began this tour last month, and at every stop on my tariff tour, from produce distributors in Chicago to farmers in Atlanta to brewers in Urbana, I’ve heard the same message: Illinoisans are paying the price for trade policies that don’t make economic sense. That’s why I’ll keep fighting for fair, smart trade policies that strengthen American manufacturing without sacrificing the workers and small businesses who drive our economy. You can read more about my tour here, and watch coverage of the event here.
