Most people don’t think about where their car parts come from, but I do. If those parts get more expensive because of tariffs, the person who will get hit the hardest is the customer.
By Moutassim Meri
Running an auto repair shop is hard work. Rising costs, keeping up with changing technologies, and ensuring customers get their cars back as quickly as possible make it a tough business.
But no matter what happens, I’m going to keep my doors open. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure my shop stays running because that’s my livelihood. My customers, though, don’t have the same options. If these tariffs go into effect after the current pause, they’re the ones who will feel it the most.
Most people don’t think about where their car parts come from, but I do. If those parts get more expensive because of tariffs, the person who will get hit the hardest is the customer trying to afford repairs.
And it’s not just about cost — it’s about time. Parts are already hard to get. Tariffs could lead to more delays, which is just another hurdle for people who need their cars back as soon as possible. The first thing customers often ask me when they drop off their keys is, “When will my car be ready?” But if parts are stuck in a supply chain backlog or priced too high, there’s nothing I can do to speed things up. That’s frustrating for the people who rely on their cars every single day to get to work, pick up their kids from school, and more.
Then there’s the impact on oil. Tariffs would increase the price of imported oil, which doesn’t just affect gas prices. It also raises the cost of transporting goods, especially by truck. And since nearly everything we buy has been on a truck at some point, those higher costs will trickle down to consumers in ways we don’t even realize until prices start going up everywhere.
We’ve seen this kind of thing before. During COVID-19, supply chains broke down, parts disappeared, and prices skyrocketed. Customers waited longer and paid more just to get basic repairs done. This feels like a repeat of that, except this time, it’s a problem we’re creating ourselves.
Iowa’s economy runs on trade. It’s not just my shop that’s at risk; it’s farmers, manufacturers, and every small business that depends on steady supply chains and predictable costs. When we start playing economic turf wars with our closest trading partners, the people who lose are regular people — the ones who can’t afford higher repair bills, expensive groceries, or rising gas prices.
Instead of closing doors and making enemies with other countries, we should be opening them. Instead of strangling our friends and neighbors with the chains of new taxes, we should be setting the economy free. Tariffs like these don’t help anyone. They just make the lives of everyday Americans more expensive.
This article was written by Moutassim Meri for the Des Moines Register
