Prince William business leaders bracing for continued economic seesaw

In light of the economic seesaw resulting from President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause of his sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, Prince William County businesses are anticipating the further impact and adjusting accordingly.

For the auto industry, the immediate future holds a new degree of uncertainty due to the administration’s 25% tariffs on imported cars, which remain active despite last week's pause on other tariffs. Local dealerships are preparing for a spike in the price of imported parts, such as engines and transmissions, ahead of May 3, the date on which the tariffs will also take effect on foreign parts.

Jose Cabrera, general manager of Karen Radley Acura and Volkswagen in Woodbridge and Radley Acura in Falls Church, said his team will be particularly affected on the Volkswagen front given the company’s German origin, with additional plants in Mexico.  

“A lot of this is just kind of week-to-week right now,” Cabrera told InsideNoVa. “We're just kind of hopeful that this could somewhat resolve itself, but we are kind of bracing everybody … for low supply and inventory on the Volkswagen side.”

Cabrera said Acura leadership has indicated to his team the Japanese manufacturer will not see major ramifications for the time being.    

“Acura has come to us and said at this time, nothing is going to change – your vehicle pricing, your cars on the ground, your in-transit vehicles will also remain the same,” Cabrera said. “The only vehicle that is produced outside the United States is our brand new model, the ADX, and Acura is going to absorb that tariff for the time being.” 

Cabrera added each of the three stores he manages does not intend to increase prices beyond the ceiling of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP. 

“My stores don't price over MSRP – we've never been a fan of, in my opinion, price gouging,” Cabrera said. “It's just not how we operate.”

Cabrera added, “But you are starting to hear some of the competition putting addendum stickers on cars, reducing any type of discount on their vehicles, just bracing for low inventory … we are starting to see a lot of used car movement, a lot of used car activity.”

Business voices

Bob Sweeney, president and CEO of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber would refrain from taking a formal position on the tariffs. Instead, he said his organization will focus on providing assistance to residents in need amid ongoing federal layoffs.

“Where we would have our formal positioning is if people start losing their jobs because consumers aren't buying anymore," Sweeney told InsideNoVa, "because trade wars are occurring and pricing is getting too high … So where we would end up becoming advocates or having formal policies around would be focusing on helping employees and employers find work, coordinate job fairs, coordinate opportunities for people to move into industries that aren't as affected.”

Marty Nohe, chair of the Prince William Chamber’s Board of Directors and president of Appliance Connection in Woodbridge, said his family’s longevity has helped where customers are concerned – with a few, tariff-induced caveats.

“We've been in the community almost 40 years,” Nohe said. “People are going to continue to need household appliances for their kitchen and laundry room for a long time. I think what we'll see is a change in what kind of product people buy – at a time when there's already a lot of economic uncertainty, what we'll probably see is a shift in the specific models that people are buying because they're looking for the best values they can get.”

Nohe said over the past few days Appliance Connection has spoken to several customers looking to buy a new appliance “to get in front of whatever price increases are coming because of tariff increases.” 

While the Northern Virginia economy is not overly reliant on manufacturing, Sweeney said Prince William County would still be affected in its alcohol production.

“We're a knowledge-based economy, but we also have some manufacturing – we produce a lot of beer, wine, alcohol in our county,” Sweeney said. “I'm not sure if they're going to benefit or get hurt because of all the beer, wine and alcohol that's coming from overseas. So think of French wine. Think of gin from the UK. Think of all of the wine from South America, all of that is going to be hard hit with tariffs.”

Sweeney continued, “If we're producing MurLarkey Spirits [in Bristow] or KO Distilling [in Manassas], and we're selling them over in the UK, all of a sudden their prices go up. People are buying up, the trade wars begin, and so they'll be hurt. Their sales will be hurt.”

Nohe addressed the mathematical nuances within the import process.

“When we hear about … a 35% tariff against a particular country, that doesn't necessarily mean that the products we sell are going to go up 35% overnight. It could be that imported parts only make up 20% of the total product, so that could lead to a much smaller price increase. But that doesn't mean that that price increase isn't real and impactful on the consumer.”

Continued curveballs

Sweeney added the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts represent the county’s primary concern in addition to the recent tariffs.

“The tariffs are an important part of it, but the bigger story is the DOGE piece coupled with the tariffs, where they're eliminating jobs – that's the big thing,” Sweeney said. “In fact, when you talk to the drone industry, or you talk to the data center industry, and you talk to the chip manufacturing industry, all three of those government contractors are salivating over what's happening in the federal government … that three-star admiral who was running a submarine division for the Navy is now going to get picked up by a contractor. We have the whole submarine division of Lockheed Martin in Manassas.”

Cabrera harkened back to turbulent times of the past, offering a more optimistic outlook on the present situation. 

“I've been in the car business for 20 years,” Cabrera said. “I've seen the economy tanking. I've seen the tsunami hitting plants in Japan and going from 1,000 cars in stock to 100. I've seen COVID … It's almost every couple years you get some curveball that comes at you. I think we've learned to adapt very well.”