Complaints over President Trump’s tariffs are nothing new, but one Republican from Montana is now ready to deeply regret his voting for Trump after he was charged a year’s worth of salary as tax for an important equipment for his knife business. Apparently, the Montana man bought a $515,000 knife sharpener from Germany, only to discover that Trump’s tariffs slapped an additional $77,250 fee on top of it.
Josh Smith is the businessman in question; he’s also the owner of Montana Knife Co., and he’s now worried about his company due to the tariffs on foreign steel might become more than an obstacle to his business. Smith also ordered a $515,000 knife grinder from Germany, but Trump’s 15 percent European Union tariff added a whopping $77,250 on top of that, which, for Smith, means he might cut costs by opting not to hire one regular-wage employee.
“The average American is not sitting in the position I am, looking at the numbers I am, and making the decisions each day, like, ‘Hey, we cannot hire those extra few people because we might have to pay this tariff on this steel or this tariff on this grinder. I want to buy more equipment and hire more people. That’s what I want to do,” complains Josh Smith, transcript courtesy of Fortune
Sadly, for Smith, the US does not make the same high-end knife grinder that Germany does, so he has no choice. That isn’t to say Smith didn’t prepare for the tariffs from the person he voted for. The Montana citizen and businessman actually bought a year’s worth of steel in advance to cushion his business. However, that’s only going to last him a year until he eventually has to pay 50 percent tax on steel next year.
Now, while Smith’s insight and preparation plan were somewhat commendable, people online still mocked him for pushing through with his Trump vote. There were warning signs anyway, such as Trump’s tariffs back in 2017.
Smith Will Have to Grit His Teeth and Live With His Vote
In addition to getting mocked for his voting choice and now somewhat regretting it because it’s about to destroy his business, Smith also highlighted the lack of foresight from the tariffs. The US industry apparently isn’t enough to circumvent the tariffs, as in the case of the German grinding machine. Smith would’ve loved to buy American-made stuff, but often, it’s China and other countries that make the stuff.
People online have further pressed their protests about Trump’s tariffs and how they negatively affect businesses all over the world– including the US. For Smith and Montana Knife Co., however, he’ll have to live with the consequences of his own actions; but sadly, it’s not just him that’s paying, but also everyone else because of his vote.
“Be a patriot and eat the costs, bud,” advised scormegatron
“It’s almost like voting for a guy who bankrupted every business he ever started was a bad idea,” according to maryssmith
“Wait, isn’t he supposed to buy things made in America? LOL,” jokes Varnigma
