TULSA, Okla. — Green County funeral home owners said they're worried about President Trump's tariffs forcing them to raise prices.
On April 9, he announced a 90-day pause on some tariffs, but the ones still in place could impact Tulsans' wallets regarding funeral costs.
Alan Hall started Tulsa Caskets and Cremationto keep prices fair. However, he said that President Trump's tariffs could make living and dying more expensive.
"I hope that I don't have to increase prices. It wasn't so much of a concern of what I pay for them; it would be what everyone else, the consumer, has to pay for them," said Hall.
President Trump said his intentions with the tariffs were to address poor trade relationships and currency manipulation from other countries.
Hall said his biggest worry is wood caskets. A potential 25% tariff could force him to increase prices.
Hall wasn't just worried about his prices for caskets potentially going up.
"It will be an excuse for a lot people to raise prices…if other funeral home raises their prices then it kind of becomes that way for everywhere," said Hall.
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Trump paused tariffs for most nations but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%. The 10% tariff against all countries will remain. Hall said he hadn't seen a direct impact since April 9, but the worries remained.
"If we don't have to increase our prices, that would be fantastic; hopefully, we don't."
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