2 days ago
The surprising city that is ignoring Trump's tariffs and the local economy is booming
Cincinnati appears to be evading the negative consequences of President Trump's tariffs on a vast range of imported goods.
Businesses in the Ohio city are reporting that consumers are still willing to spend, even as the nation's opinion of the economy is 'broadly negative', according to the University of Michigan's most recent survey.
Cincinnati's home values are up 5.2 percent for the first half of the year, according to the Realtor Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, while much of the rest of the US has seen frozen or falling prices.
The city's retail real estate market also has recorded low vacancy rates, property broker Colliers told The Financial Times.
Rising home equity and a soaring stock market has bolstered household finances in the city, leading to robust spending.
'You look around, people are still spending their money here, they're still opening their wallets,' Brandon Rudd, director of the Center for Research & Data at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, told the FT.
One such business that is booming is Jungle Jim's International Market, which imports stock from 75 countries and should therefore be suffering from the effect of Trump's tariffs.
'Our sales are up, big time,' founder Jim Bonaminio told the publication.
Customers 'blow money right and left' Bonaminio, who opened the store 50 years ago and is currently adding another 250 car parking spots, explained.
Jungle Jim's International Market shoppers are still willing to pay for convenience, such as pre-shucked corn that is twice the price of on the cob.
'We shuck it and we put it in a little wrap. And you're worried about money?' he said.
Bonaminio said many of his suppliers have resisted raising their prices for longstanding customers since Washington's policies change so quickly.
Despite the upbeat spending the city is still bracing for the impact of impending job cuts at one of the metros major employers, Procter & Gamble.
The company announced in June that it was slashing 7,000 jobs over the next two years - a 15 percent cut to its workforce.
The US Environmental Protection Agency is also cutting jobs in the city's local research offices.
'I think consumer confidence is down,' Ron Sargent, CEO of Cincinnati-based supermarket chain Kroger, said in June. 'We expect the consumer to remain cautious throughout the year.'
The value of homes in Cincinnati is up 5.2 percent for the first half of the year
Consumers told the FT that they were not panicking about the effect of tariffs, but had made some reasonable adjustments to their budgets.
'I'm aware of what's going on, but not alarmed,' Rebecca Goertemoeller, a relocation consultant, said.
'I want to be knowledgeable but not paranoid.'
Despite that, Goertemoeller bought the car she was leasing in order to get ahead of any increased costs from tariffs.
She has also started swapping in cheaper own brand products such as Costco's laundry detergent over those made by Tide.
