INDIANAPOLIS – More southern Indiana manufacturers have been forced to lay off workers due to the damage that new tariffs have inflicted on Indiana’s economy, yet all signs seem to show Rep. Braun still believes the new tariffs’ effects are “overdramatized.”
The tariffs that have been crippling Hoosier farmers and manufacturers are triggering increasing layoffs in Rep. Braun’s southern Indiana backyard. Yesterday, the Washington Postreported that Brinly-Hardy, a lawn equipment manufacturer in Jeffersonville, has been forced to lay off 75 workers. Brinly-Hardy President Jane Hardy told the Post that new tariffs on parts she needs to import are to blame for the job losses.
While the Trump Administration announced plans to provide $12 billion in temporary relief to American farmers, Hoosier manufacturers like Brinly-Hardy are still out in the cold. They’re making clear that further damage to all sectors of Indiana’s economy is inevitable if a long-term solution isn’t found soon. “We are collateral damage in this effort,” Hardy told the Post. “We’re going to be in the same situation as the farmers of needing to save U.S. manufacturing.”
Brinly-Hardy is the second southern Indiana company in less than a week to struggle with the tariffs, as Kimball Electronics in Rep. Braun’s hometown of Jasper recently announced it was considering moving production overseas thanks to them. Hoosier manufacturers like Brinly-Hardy and Kimball that are looking for reassurance, however, won’t find it from Rep. Braun. Even though companies now feel the need to lay off workers or potentially move production overseas to cope, he has made clear he believes businesses should simply ride out the tariffs and called reactions from companies like Brinly-Hardy “overdramatized.”
“As more Hoosier manufacturers are forced to lay off workers due to the new tariffs, Rep. Braun seems content to try and score political points with his Washington backers and ignore Indiana businesses’ cries for help,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Does Rep. Braun simply not care that Hoosier manufacturers are suffering? Or does he still consider the tariffs forcing them to lay off Hoosier workers and take their businesses out of his hometown to be ‘overdramatized?’”
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