Business owners, economists weigh in on possible economic shakeup

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- As President-elect Donald Trump vows to shake up the US economy with measures like new tariffs, economists and business owners are weighing in on what it may mean for their bottom line -- and the longer-term economic outlook.

The possible shift in US economic policy comes amid lingering inflation and more recently, a dip in short-term interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

"This is new territory for me as a business owner," said Rusty Sutton, owner of The Green Monkey, a bar and gift shop in downtown Raleigh.

Sutton said the last four years under Biden have been bumpy at times, but he believes the administration was supportive of small businesses -- something he's less certain about under incoming leadership. He said he's concerned about what potential tariffs might mean for his bottom line and said complicating factors from inflation and fluctuating interest rates have created an ecosystem of uncertainty.

"We've been in business -- we just celebrated 11 years," Sutton said. "And this is the first time we've had an economy and big sort of messy like this."

Economists, meantime, say those Trump-proposed tariffs -- effectively a tax on imported goods -- could end up being passed along to consumers.

"The question is, who's going to pay for that? And the history of tariffs suggests that it's likely more to be the person the consumer than the producer," said Gerald Cohen, Chief Economist at UNC's Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise.

ABC11 asked Cohen about the stock market surge in the wake of Trump's resounding victory last week, and what it means for local businesses. Cohen said he believes the market could be reacting to the tax breaks and deregulation that defined Trump's prior term.

"Maybe people believe that this administration is less likely to do the kind of things that economists saw as harmful," Cohen said.

Meantime, Republican leadership said consumers and business owners have every reason to be optimistic with Trump back in the Oval Office.

"I really do think if there's one thing that we can have a lot of confidence in, it's that Trump is going to get the economy rolling again," said Steve Bergstrom, former chair of the Wake GOP.

Bergstrom said Trump's economic history speaks for itself -- and that less regulation will give business owners new reason for hope.

"With that optimism, I do think the country starts to heal a little bit more. It's amazing what a little bit of optimism will do for an individual," said Bergstrom.