Tariffs
As you probably know by now, President Trump has put a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. Most economists that I have read assume that those countries will retaliate.
From the latest year that I could find statistics (2023), here are West Virginia’s exports to those countries according to the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration:
Canada $2.2 billion (38% of WV’s total exports)
China $188.8 million
Mexico $160.6 million
How many WV jobs will this affect? I could not find specific job numbers for these countries, but overall, the total number of jobs connected to WV exports was over 22,000 in 2021.
And then there is the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal:
What a disaster for American families and businesses. pic.twitter.com/YIKSNpyNZk
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) February 1, 2025
(It should be noted that the WSJ is a Murdoch-owned, Trump-friendly, conservative newspaper.)
So, we will likely see Trump's action produce significant WV job losses plus higher costs for WV's consumers – what a great idea! You can’t say that West Virginians weren’t warned, however.
There's more. Internationally, Deutsche Bank called the tariffs the “largest shock to international trade in 50 years” and then made this forecast:
"We see immediate recessionary consequences for some of the economies involved and broad-based negative read-across to the world economy,” according to Deutsche Bank.
Diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI)
As I noted previously, Patrick Morrisey, our new governor, couldn’t wait to implement a ban on DEI. Here is West Virginia University’s reaction:
WVU is closing its Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, per an announcement sent to students’ MIX emails Thursday.
— The Daily Athenaeum (@DailyAthenaeum) January 30, 2025
The Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance has been created to comply with federal and state guidelines.https://t.co/uRTHz9dFUx
And here is the local state university, West Liberty, following suit:
EXCLUSIVE: West Liberty University removes DEI links from website
— Justice Hudson (@JusticeHudson97) January 31, 2025
School administrators confirmed the removal of DEI-related content is an effort to conform to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s executive orders.https://t.co/0hKMeEDMbt
West Virginians with disabilities
From Amelia Knisely:
Appalachian Center for Independent Living, which serves West Virginians with disabilities, announced mass staff layoffs following President Trump’s EO freezing federal dollars. https://t.co/iAQ4TGOrm8
— Amelia Knisely (@ameliaknisely) February 2, 2025
Okay, a judge temporarily blocked the freeze. But has the group received its funding? From Charleston’s WCHS:
President Donald Trump attempted to freeze all federal funding for ideological review in an executive order signed Monday. However, as of Friday, two federal judges have temporary blocked the order, but some are still experiencing issues accessing the money, including mass reports of states' Medicaid payment portal websites going down.
"The short version here is we have no money. We're getting no explanations. And so we have no choice. We have to lay people off. And if it keeps going, we're going to have to close down," Bruce Perrone, president of the board of directors for ACIL, said.
The agency has been operating out of Charleston for 40 years, installing ramps and modifying bathrooms to be wheelchair accessible, transporting elderly and disabled people to appointments, and training individuals living alone with daily tasks like budgeting and cooking.
Do any of the WV Trump Party leaders care? I doubt it. I think this fits under what is called "collateral damage."
Bonus track
As I put this together, Ferris Buehler's Day Off (Hughs, 1986) is on one of the cable channels.
Right on cue, Ben Stein explains tariffs:
