THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

When the Orange Humperdoo first broached the idea of an unnecessary trade war, he said it would be easy to win. And thanks to Hurricane Florence, Humperdoo is going to score a Yuge win in the Carolinas.

The tariffs President Trump has slapped on imports from foreign countries — including duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods announced Monday — are almost certain to raise costs on homeowners in the Carolinas hoping to rebuild and refurnish after Hurricane Florence.

While prices naturally rise after a natural disaster, given the spike in demand for building materials, Trump’s trade war has already boosted costs for imported plywood and lumber, which jumped 30 percent in the six months after the Trump administration announced tariffs on Canadian softwood timber in December.

In addition, Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports have boosted prices for furniture, washing machines and other appliances, and the president late Monday announced an additional 10 percent tariffs on a range of Chinese exports, which could increase to 25 percent by the end of the year.

“People should expect to find it will be more expensive to rebuild and refurnish their houses,” said Jock O’Connell, a trade economist affiliated with California-based Beacon Economics. “Whenever there’s a natural disaster, there will be spikes in prices, as demand goes up. This time it will be exacerbated by the impacts of tariffs.”

Homeowners confront an array of challenges rebuilding from the hurricane, including labor shortages and lack of insurance to pay for any rebuilding and losses. But higher costs for building materials and household items will add to those costs, said O’Connell and representatives of the building and retail industries.

Michael Carpenter, executive vice president of the North Carolina Home Builders Association, said U.S. duties on Canadian lumber caused home construction prices to spike sharply in the first half of the year, and then drop off in recent months. Hurricane Florence will help restore those higher costs, he said, in part because of the challenge of moving construction materials around.

“The disruption are going to be substantial, and in a lot of areas around the state,” said Carpenter. “There are are going to be some significant shortages of building materials for some time.”

Mark Adkison, a vice president for the National Housewares Association, said his trade group is most concerned about tariffs the Trump administration announced Monday on $200 billion of Chinese exports, which could rise from a 10 to 25 percent tariff by 2019. The proposed list subject to duties is broad and sweeping, affecting everything from gypsum used in sheet rock to electronics, textiles and everyday housewares and kitchen gadgets.

“The 25 percent proposal is really concerning,” Adkison said. “It is more than the supply chain can handle, and would result in significant price increases at retail.”

Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross have enacted a series of tariffs against top exporters to the United States, including China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

The administration says these tariffs are aimed at protecting U.S. farmers, manufacturers and other companies that have been victims of foreign protectionism. But they’ve raised prices for consumers and various U.S. companies, including those that depend on foreign supply chains, and have hurt U.S. farmers and other exporters that have been subject to retaliation.

It is doubtful that the Trumpoons and other voters who supported his reckless rhetoric had any idea how much their support would cost them but for many another bill about to come due will be bigger than needed. And so far there is no sign of the big, easy win in Humperdoo's Unnecessary Trade War, just like all the other wars we are in.