“All of those countries are facing higher tariffs under current proposals. And those products will definitely be priced much higher in the near future due to those tariffs. I don’t see any other way around it,” he added.
At Jagalchi, efforts are already underway to mitigate potential cost increases, including developing in-house products.
Still, much remains uncertain.
“Obviously in the future there’s a lot of uncertainty that may come up. But we will find those solutions as they come,” said Lapuz.
Consumers, too, are also bracing for the impact, said Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University.
“The community has been stocking up (on) Asian goods … buying rice and soy sauce and things like that,” he said.
Source: CNA
