Massachusetts businesses feeling the pinch of President Donald Trump’s tariffs now a centralized resource in state government where they can seek help.
On Monday, Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced that it was launching the Massachusetts Tariff Response and Business Operations Support Initiative, or TRBO, billing it as a one-stop shop for business owners dealing with a rapidly shifting trade landscape.
“My administration has partnered with businesses from Day One and, in this time of uncertainty, I want to do all I can to safeguard the manufacturing sector and mitigate market fluctuations,” Healey said in a statement.
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Businesses across New England have raced to keep up with the Trump White House’s trade policies. With some announcing that they might impose a surcharge on goods imported from China, according to a published report.
The “TRBO” initiative announced Monday includes a survey that will allow companies to explain how they’ve been impacted by tariffs. That, in turn, will allow the state to develop a response plan and to connect those businesses with " alternative supply chains here in Massachusetts and across the region," the Democratic front office said.
The intent there is to “ensure that Massachusetts stays the course through these challenging times,” Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said in a statement.
“Despite what is happening at the federal level, we are working around the clock to build a path forward so we can keep goods moving and protect jobs no matter what,” Driscoll said.
Healey met with business leaders last week to hear about how they’d been dealing with the tariffs. In the middle of it, Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of the plan.
Even still, the Democratic governor and other attendees expressed little in the way of relief, saying they were still worried that consumers and employers would continue to face economic “chaos and uncertainty.”
The pause “doesn’t matter because we are still left in a state of chaos and uncertainty,” Healey said, according to State House News Service. “This is why people cannot deploy capital. They can’t invest in their workforce.”
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced further modifications to his trade regime with China, imposing exemptions for smartphones, computers and other electronics from China, Reuters reported.
According to one senior administration official, businesses need all the help they can get.
“Every day, businesses are working hard to pay their bills, deliver services and support their workers. The recent efforts by the Trump administration have thrown businesses into limbo,” state Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao said. “Massachusetts has weathered these storms before and is fortunate to have the expertise, knowledge and capacity to meet these challenging times.”
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