Tariff Decisions Stir Debate as North Carolina Faces Slow Recovery
North Carolina’s 11th District, represented by Rep. Chuck Edwards, finds itself in a challenging situation. Edwards, aligning with 209 other House Republicans, voted against a bipartisan resolution aimed at blocking tariffs on Canada, originally enforced during President Donald Trump’s administration. This decision comes amidst ongoing struggles in the district to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene ravaged the western tip of North Carolina, resulting in over 100 fatalities and causing damages exceeding $53 billion. Despite the passage of time, recovery has been slow, exacerbated by factors including increased construction costs, partly due to the tariffs.
Tariffs on construction materials such as steel and lumber have escalated prices by 20% over the past year, hindering rebuilding efforts. Nick Scroggs, a local contractor, highlighted to WLOS the financial implications: “In these times, whenever there’s potential tariffs affecting the cost of goods and services and whatnot, we have to price a little more risk into our models, which gets passed on to the customer.”
In a significant policy move, President Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber in October, further impacting home building costs. Additional tariffs on other Canadian lumber products range from 26% to 48%.
Rep. Edwards has supported these tariffs, expressing confidence in their potential benefits. On CNN in April 2025, he stated, “I believe that our president was very clear when he asked to be our president that he would be using tariffs to make America more competitive. I trust that he will do exactly that. I know that there’s just a lot of angst out there right now, but we’re really early into this process.”
Despite these assurances, the tariffs have had tangible economic effects. According to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan organization, these policies cost the average American household an extra $1,000 last year.
The ongoing debate over tariffs continues as North Carolina’s 11th District and other affected regions navigate the complex path to recovery and economic stability.
The post Chuck Edwards backs tariffs as western NC struggles to rebuild appeared first on American Journal News.
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