AGUILA, AZ — In Aguila, Arizona, signs on the side of the road, and on the pavement, warn drivers to look out for cattle.
Brian DeGanahl is a 3rd generation rancher, and on his ranch he and his family's cows will produce enough beef to feed 4,000 families a year, but that number could be a lot higher.
“What we would like is to have access to these foreign markets," DeGanahl said.
His cows will be steaks in a year, and he says if President Trump's tariff plan works, beef producers like him could sell those steaks in international markets they don’t currently have access to.
“Australia ships a lot of beef into the United States, and that’s fine, but they won’t let our better cuts go into Australia," DeGanahl said. "We have zero sales in Australia. None. And they sell billions of dollars in the United States.”
Even with the stock market dip, he says he is standing by President Trump, and wants other Americans to be patient.
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“We need to let this man work for a minute, It’s the art of the deal," DeGanahl said. "We need to let him negotiate, he’s negotiated well for the American people before I think we need to give him a chance to do it again.”
When it comes to tariffs, for Arizona businesses, there’s two sides to the story.
In the Valley, full-time mom of three kids, and full-time small business owner Erica Campbell says she doesn't have the time to be patient with tariff negotiations.
She owns "Be a Heart", an e-commerce business selling catholic themed gifts and products, which are all made in China. Proposed tariffs will eat into her profit margins, causing her to have to raise prices.
“Right now this $40 night light would need to sell for $62," Campbell said.
Campbell says her family relies on the income from her business and she is very nervous about what the next few weeks and months will look like.
The Trump Administration wants to use tariffs to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., but Campbell says there isn't enough manufacturing power here in the U.S. now for her to make her products here.
“It will probably take four years or more to build factories to make these products, which China has really perfected," Campbell said.
Which is too long she says for her and many others if rising prices, and a recession, hit the U.S. economy because of the tariffs.
“I don’t know if by the time he figures it out many of us will still be here," Campbell said.
The 10% percent universal tariff on imports is in effect, and higher reciprocal tariffs announced by President Trump kick in on April 9.
