As Trade Ambassador Touts “Manufacturing Success” in Michigan and Ohio, Data Show Manufacturing Jobs at Multi-Year Lows and Small Businesses Paying the Price

Michigan and Ohio businesses paid $25.7 billion in additional tariffs between March 2025 and February 2026. Manufacturing jobs in both states ended 2025 at their lowest levels in years. Small businesses say they are bearing the costs of a policy that has not delivered its promises.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- April 9, 2026 -- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is touring Michigan and Ohio manufacturing plants this week to promote the Administration’s claim that tariffs are rebuilding American industry. The data tells a different story.

Michigan businesses paid $17 billion in extra tariffs between March 2025 and February 2026, contributing to a loss of 15,000 manufacturing jobs last year and leaving the state with its lowest manufacturing employment level since 2013. 

Ohio businesses paid $8.7 billion in extra tariffs during the same period; the state lost 1,200 manufacturing jobs last year and ended 2025 with the fewest manufacturing jobs since 2021.

In 2025, the automotive sector, a supposed beneficiary of tariffs, lost almost 10,000 manufacturing jobs in Michigan and 3,000 jobs in Ohio. At the same time, Ohio appliance manufacturing employment fell by 300 jobs, finishing the year at the lowest level since the data series began in 1990.  

We Pay the Tariffs, a coalition of over 1,100 small businesses nationwide, is releasing this data as Ambassador Greer tours both states and is calling on him to stop adding new tariffs while manufacturing jobs fall to decade-plus lows.

“If higher costs and fewer manufacturing jobs is considered a ‘success,’ then I’d hate to see what failure looks like,” said Dan Anthony, Executive Director of We Pay the Tariffs. “Small businesses are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for an honest accounting: tariffs haven’t worked, and Main Street is paying for it.”

One Year of Tariffs: Businesses and Workers are Paying a Steep Price

The $17 billion in extra tariffs paid by Michigan companies from March 2025 to February 2026 included:

• $6.9 billion in tariffs on imports of autos

• $4.2 billion in tariffs on auto parts 

• $649 million in tariffs on general purpose machinery 

• $477 million in tariffs on iron and steel

• $428 million in tariffs on aluminum

  
  

The $8.7 billion in extra tariffs paid by Ohio companies from March 2025 to February 2026 included:

• $1.1 billion in tariffs on auto parts

• $661 million in tariffs on apparel

• $534 million in tariffs on general purpose machinery 

• $413 million in tariffs on fabricated metal products  

• $404 million in tariffs on iron and steel 

  
  

Notably, the bulk of tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel, and aluminum fall under Section 232 “national security” tariffs and therefore are not affected by the recent Supreme Court finding that IEEPA tariffs were illegal.

While tariff costs are certain, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ State and Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings database shows they have not produced a manufacturing revival in either state.  

Both Ohio and Michigan’s post-2009 manufacturing jobs peaked in 2018—the same year President Trump first imposed wide-scale tariffs—and have not recovered since. 

Between December 2024 and December 2025, Michigan:

• Lost 14,800 total manufacturing jobs, finishing at the lowest level since 2013.

• Lost 3,500 auto manufacturing jobs, finishing at the lowest level since 2020.

• Lost 6,400 auto parts manufacturing jobs, finishing at the lowest level since 2012.

  
  

Between December 2024 and December 2025, Ohio:

• Lost 1,200 total manufacturing jobs, finishing at the lowest level since 2021.

• Lost 300 appliances manufacturing jobs, finishing at the lowest level  since the data series began in 1990. 

• Lost 500 auto manufacturing jobs, finishing at the lowest level since 2009.

• Lost 2,500 auto parts manufacturing jobs, finishing at the lowest level since 2012.

• Gained 200 computer and electronics manufacturing jobs, one of the few sectors largely exempted from new tariffs in 2025.

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Michigan and Ohio Small Businesses Call for Refunds

Michigan and Ohio small businesses have joined businesses from across the country in signing We Pay the Tariffs’ letter to Congress and the Administration demanding full, fast, and automatic refunds of all unlawfully collected IEEPA tariffs. The letter makes clear that the government has records of every tariff payment and that refunds must be issued directly to importers of record without requiring individual applications.

Refund letter: wepaythetariffs.com/sign-the-refund-letter

Tariff Polling

National polling consistently shows broad, bipartisan opposition to tariff policies ahead of the 2026 midterms. According to an October 2025 poll, 71.5% of Michigan voters say they’re paying more due to tariffs. An April 2025 poll revealed just 25% of Ohio voters thought that the President’s tariff policies will help them. 

A compilation of more than 25 polls showing voter opposition to tariffs is available HERE.

Small Business Interviews Available:

We Pay the Tariffs can connect media with small business owners from across the country who can describe firsthand the impact of tariffs on their operations, employees, and customers. Contact press@wepaythetariffs.com to arrange interviews.

View State-by-State Data: The map showing tariff costs for all 50 states is available athttps://www.wepaythetariffs.com/impact-map

About the Data

All data come from Trade Partnership Worldwide’s State Tariff Tracker (“Tracker”) database. The Tracker combines national import and tariff data from the U.S. Census Bureau (Census), including details on special provisions that either lower tariffs (e.g., preference claims such as USMCA) or increase them (e.g., Chapter 99 rates for Section 301 or IEEPA tariffs), tariff schedules from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and state import value data from Census. Trade Partnership Worldwide data is frequently cited in national and international media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, NBC, CBS, Axios, Politico, CNBC, CNN, BBC, and more.

About We Pay the Tariffs

We Pay the Tariffs is a grassroots coalition of over 1,100 small businesses that advocates against tariffs. The coalition filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court challenging the legality of IEEPA tariffs. Members include restaurants, manufacturers, retailers, game companies, importers, and other enterprises from every U.S. region. The vast majority of members are micro businesses with 10 or fewer employees. For more information: www.wepaythetariffs.com

MEDIA CONTACT: press@wepaythetariffs.com