Getting down to the nuts and bolts of the trade war

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: "Getting down to the nuts and bolts of the trade war"

Date: October 24, 2025
Host: Sabri Benishore (in for David Brancaccio)

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Overview

This Marketplace Morning Report delves into the ramifications of ongoing trade wars—especially recent turbulence between the U.S. and Canada—highlighting how global politics and shifting tariffs shape real-world business and economic realities. The episode features updates on U.S.-Canada trade tension, the presidential pardon of crypto figure Changpeng Zhao, and a hands-on look at how tariffs hit small manufacturing businesses. The key focus is an interview with Rob Layman, owner of Fair Wind Fasteners, illustrating the nuts-and-bolts impact of tariff policy on American small businesses.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

U.S.-Canada Trade War Escalates (01:01 – 02:37)

• Trade Talks Collapse: President Trump abruptly ends negotiations with Canada, triggered by an Ontario advertisement using edited Ronald Reagan audio to criticize trade barriers.
• Reagan Foundation's Critique: The Reagan Foundation accuses Ontario of misrepresenting Reagan’s message, noting the audio was manipulated, despite being authentic.
• Retaliation and Market Impacts: The advertisement's influence on negotiations is highlighted, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces Stellantis's Jeep Compass production is moving from Ontario to Illinois—underscoring immediate industrial and employment consequences.

“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.”
— [Michelle Fleury as Reagan, 01:51]

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Presidential Pardon for Binance Founder (02:37 – 03:38)

• Changpeng Zhao Pardoned: President Trump pardons the founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), who had served time for money laundering charges.
• Crypto Policy Shift: The White House frames this as the end of the “war on crypto,” though the effects on Binance’s prior penalties remain unclear.
• New Ventures Tied to Trump: CZ resumes his ambitions with major new crypto and stablecoin projects, some with Trump-linked firms.

“The pardon... marked the end of the Biden administration’s war on crypto.”
— [Michelle Fleury, 02:50]

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Small Business Spotlight: Tariffs and Uncertainty at the Ground Level (05:02 – 08:34)

Interview with Rob Layman, Owner of Fair Wind Fasteners:

• Broad Customer Base: While originally focused on marine equipment, Fair Wind Fasteners now serves clients in construction, electrical, and machinery manufacturing—anywhere a nut or bolt is needed.
• Global Sourcing—Tariff Trouble: Layman sources from the U.S., Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Europe, and China, choosing top quality from across the globe, but facing unpredictably rising costs due to tariffs.
• Cost Increases: Tariffs have caused component costs to rise by 30–50%, directly cutting into business margins.
• Passing Costs Along: Layman confirms higher prices are handed down to customers, as margins are eroded by tariff expenses.
• Unpredictability Frustrates Business: The “constantly changing landscape” of tariffs hampers quotation and planning—Layman must qualify every quote with tariff disclaimers, angering customers who struggle to budget for future purchases.
• Manufacturing Lag: Manufacturing lead times (up to 90 days) make it impossible to guarantee costs, as tariffs can change before goods arrive.

“With my costs increasing 30 to 50%, that's basically all of our margin and more.”
— [Rob Layman, 07:16]

“The constant changing landscape of these tariffs is quite honestly the worst part about it… I have to send [customers] a quote back with footnotes at the end that say, this is the pricing today. It's subject to changing tariff rates… I just can't [promise].”
— [Rob Layman, 07:32]

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Media and Trade:
  “President Trump says he's terminating trade talks with Canada because of its, quote, egregious behavior.”
  — [Nancy Marshall Genzer, 01:26]

• On Passing Tariff Hikes to Customers:
  “We have had to pass that on to our consumer... that's basically all of our margin and more.”
  — [Rob Layman, 07:16]

• On Tariff Uncertainty:
  “When I have a customer that asks me for a quote... I have to send them a quote back with footnotes at the end that say, this is the pricing today. It's subject to changing tariff rates.”
  — [Rob Layman, 07:32]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:01] Collapse of U.S.-Canada trade talks & the Reagan ad controversy
• [02:37] Presidential pardon for Binance’s Changpeng Zhao—end of the “war on crypto”
• [05:02] Interview: Rob Layman, Fair Wind Fasteners—how tariffs impact small manufacturing
  • [05:30] Expanding customer base beyond marine to construction, electrical, etc.
  • [05:56] Global sourcing and tariff complications
  • [06:25] Rising costs and supply chain stress
  • [07:11] Passing costs to end customers
  • [07:32] The struggle with unpredictable tariffs and quoting

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Takeaway

The episode brings the international and political down to a pragmatic level, demonstrating how the shifting ground of global trade wars and policy unpredictability have tangible effects: from shifting automotive production across borders, to the very margins and quoting process of a family business selling bolts and screws. By anchoring big headlines in specific business experiences, Marketplace illustrates the pressing, personal dimension of economic news.

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End of Summary

Transcript

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[Sabri Benishore]

How one advertisement scuttled trade Talks with Canada From Marketplace I'm Sabri Benishore, in for David Brancaccio. President Trump said late last night that he is ending trade negotiations with Canada. The president cited an ad from the province of Ontario, which features former President Ronald Reagan criticizing trade barriers. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer has more.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

In a social media post, President Trump says he's terminating trade talks with Canada because of its, quote, egregious behavior. The ad from Ontario uses soundbites from a 1987 Reagan radio address. Reagan explains he's imposing some tariffs on Japan, but he emphasizes he's doing so reluctantly and says in the long run, trade barriers hurt American workers and consumers.

[Michelle Fleury]

High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Trump quoted the Ronald Reagan foundation as saying Canada used the ad fraudulently. He called it fake. In a post on X, the foundation says the Ontario ad misrepresents the radio dress. The audio in the ad is genuine, but the sound bites were taken out of sequence and spliced together. Ontario's premier Doug Ford that Stellantis is planning to move production of its Jeep Compass from Ontario to Illinois. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishore]

President Trump has pardoned the founder of the Binance Cryptocurrency exchange. Changpeng Zhao served a four month prison sentence last year on charges related to money laundering. The BBC's Michelle Fleury has more.

[Michelle Fleury]

The White House said the pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao marked the end of the Biden administration's war on crypto. Two years earlier, C as he's also known, pled guilty to money laundering related charges. Binance paid a record $4.3 billion fine and its global crypto exchange was banned from operating in the U.S. it's unclear what the pardon means for those penalties or for Zhao's position at the firm, but it lifts restrictions that had barred him from running financial ventures. Posting on social media, CZ vowed to help make America the capital of crypto. Before the pardon, Zhao's companies had partnered with TrumpLink firms on new digital currency projects, including the World Liberty, stablecoin and Dominari holdings, which is based in Trump Tower.

[Sabri Benishore]

That's Michelle Fleury there with the BBC.

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[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

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[Sabri Benishore]

We take the pulse of the economy by bringing you views on the economy from a range of perspectives today. How one small business is navigating tariffs Fair Wind Fasteners is based in Newport, Rhode Island. They sell specialized nuts and bolts and screws that hold boats together. Rob Layman is the company's founder and owner and he joins us now for more. Rob, welcome.

[Rob Layman]

Happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

[Sabri Benishore]

So you guys sell nuts, screws, bolts made out of different interesting metal alloys. Who do you sell to? What are People using them for.

[Rob Layman]

You know, I started this business thinking that we would just supply the marine industry. We sell a lot of fasteners that are focused on the marine industry, but it turns out fasteners are used in a lot of different industries. The construction industry, I find that the electrical industry, we're selling to machinery manufacturers. Anything you can think of that would have a nut, bolt or a screw in it.

[Sabri Benishore]

And you source these, these components from kind of everywhere around the world, or how does that work?

[Rob Layman]

We source our fasteners from the best manufacturers that we can find. And so that means looking all over the world for whoever is the best. Some of our fasteners come from the United States. We're trying to get a lot of them from the United States. As of late, we get a lot from Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, different countries in Europe, Italy, Germany, and China as well.

[Sabri Benishore]

So let me just ask broadly, how are you doing? How is business right now?

[Rob Layman]

Well, business is still pretty good. You know, a lot of our customers are still spending money. The economy, broadly, is still going okay, but we are struggling with the cost of goods. With my inventory, costs are rising rapidly.

[Sabri Benishore]

Yeah. How bad are these cost increases?

[Rob Layman]

You know, we're seeing anywhere from 30 to 50% increase in cost of goods, depending on the specific item we're looking at.

[Sabri Benishore]

Are you having to pay these tariffs yourself or is it your suppliers who have to pay them and then you share the cost? Who all is paying for this?

[Rob Layman]

So a little bit of both. Some things we import directly. In that case, of course, I'm paying the tariffs. And then I do get some items from larger distributors who are paying the tariffs themselves and then passing the costs on to us.

[Sabri Benishore]

And have you had to pass any of that on to your consumers?

[Rob Layman]

We have had to pass that on to our consumer. You know, with. With my costs increasing 30 to 50%, that's. That's basically all of our margin and more.

[Sabri Benishore]

I mean, another thing that presumably you've had to contend with is the fact that these tariffs change so much. How's that been for you?

[Rob Layman]

You know, the, the constant changing landscape of these tariffs is quite honestly the worst part about it. When I have a customer that asks me for a quote, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fasteners, I have to send them a quote back with footnotes at the end that say, this is the pricing today. It's subject to changing tariff rates. And of course, that buyer says to me, well, you know, we need to know what the price is going to be for our product. We need to budget it. You need to give us a solid price. And I just can't. I can't. You know, I might order them today. They might take 90 days to manufacture and then I don't know what the tariffs are going to be 90 days from now at the time that they get shipped. So it's a really big problem.

[Sabri Benishore]

Rob Lehman is founder of Fair Wind Fasteners. It's a small business based out of Newport, R.I. deals in various types of nuts and bolts that go into boats and much, much more. Rob, thank you so much.

[Rob Layman]

Absolutely.

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It's been a pleasure.

[Rob Layman]

Thanks for having me.

[Sabri Benishore]

In New York, I'm Sabri Bennett with the Marketplace Morning Report from APM American Public Media.

[Amy Scott]

I'm Amy Scott. And this week on How We Survive, I'm joined by a very special guest, the Splendid tables, Francis Lamb. Frances joins me in the kitchen to cook up something called cultivated chicken, a new meat alternative that's not from an animal but from chicken cells.

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[Rob Layman]

Have to say there's something in the.

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