Gov. Katie Hobbs: Tariffs are hurting Arizona small businesses and their customers

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs and Rep. Greg Stanton spent Tuesday focused on how tariffs are affecting breweries and other small businesses in Arizona.

“I don’t think there’s anything more American than brewing beer, and it’s a fun way to talk about a hard situation,” Hobbs told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 2 enacting 10% tariffs on all countries, while certain nations, like China, garner even higher rates. The higher rates were postponed for 90 days to allow for negotiating, except the one on China, while the 10% tariffs remain.

“A lot of these brewers have restaurants attached, and so the profit margins there are already very thin,” Hobbs said. “Tariffs are going to eat into that, there’s no way that they cannot pass the cost onto their customers.”

How have small businesses been impacted by tariffs?

Hobbs and Stanton were at Hundred Mile Brewing Company in Tempe, where they discussed the impact of tariffs on required materials such as aluminum, which is largely sourced from Canada.

“I distribute to grocery stores, so the canning thing is a real thing. They just adjusted prices purely based on speculation,” OHSO Brewery + Distillery owner Jon Lane told KTAR News 92.3 FM at the event.

.@GovernorHobbs & I met with Arizona brewers at @HundredMileBrew in Tempe today. Trump’s tariffs are hitting them especially hard—raising costs on machinery, aluminum cans & ingredients.

Small businesses already operate with razor thin margins. They deserve better than this. pic.twitter.com/0ZveTiv33U

— Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) April 16, 2025

Lane said he’s already faced higher costs for supplies like aluminum, which breweries use to can their drinks for sale in grocery stores. 

In response, companies will either have to pass along costs to customers or reduce their staff, he said, with higher negative impacts on smaller businesses. 

“It’s the whiplash, I’ve been affected because of the cost of things rising without an actual tariff yet, based on speculation,” Lane said. “Prices will never come down most likely, I just don’t want them to increase more.”

Why does Hobbs say tariffs are already hurting Arizona consumers?

Hobbs said in addition to the actual monetary impact of tariffs, the “uncertainty about what’s coming next” has also been dangerous for the Arizona economy.

“People are already seeing cost increases before the tariffs went into effect, and it’s making them skeptical about future investment, future growth, hiring new people, things like that,” Hobbs said. “These tariffs are not good for the economy, whether you’re talking to small businesses, consumers, big businesses, whatever it is.”

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