NEW BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN: AFFORDABLE VIRGINIA CALLS ON KIGGANS TO REJECT TRUMP’S TARIFFS
Virginia Beach, VA – Last week, Affordable Virginia unveiled a billboard calling on Representative Jen Kiggans to stand up to Trump’s tariff proposal which threatens to increase everyday costs for families across the region. The billboard will run for the month of January.
Over 60,000 drivers will be reminded of the strain on their wallets as they head to work throughout Hampton Roads. Despite families across the country struggling with rising prices for necessities like groceries and housing, rather than helping working families, Trump plans to make daily essentials more expensive.
Affordable Virginia’s Billboard Located on I-64
“President-elect Trump has stated time and time again his intention to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China by as much as 25% – where the majority of Virginians’ daily essentials come from,” said Emily Yeatts, Affordable Virginia Campaigns Director. “This isn’t a tax on those countries. This is a tax on average Americans, including 30% of working Virginians who are just trying to get by. Everyone from big corporations to small businesses have said that customers will see these changes result in an increase in prices to the consumer. There is not a single sector that will not be affected. Everything from avocados to soap, electronics, cars, and clothing will go up. This is unacceptable, and we should be working to make life more affordable for working families, not working to raise everyday prices so that Trump can give his billionaire buddies another tax break. Representative Kiggans has a responsibility to her constituents to reject Trump’s tariffs.”
Here are the facts, Trump’s proposed tariffs would:
Reduce consumers’ spending power by up to $78 billion each year.
Raise the cost of daily essentials from groceries and gas to gifts.
Each household could see an average increase of over $2,600 based on some of Trump’s larger tariff proposals.
What executives have said:
Autozone CEO Philip Daniele: ‘If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer.”
Walmart CFO John David Rainey: “there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers.”
Best Buy CEO Cory Barrie said the company may raise costs due to tariffs, noting that almost all consumer electronics are imported
Stanley Black & Decker CEO Donald Allan: “coming out of the gate, there would be price increases associated with tariffs that we put into the market”
IKEA’s Ingka Group CEO Jesper Brodin, said tariffs would “make it more difficult for us to maintain the low prices and be affordable for many people.”