MORNING HEADLINES | South Carolina shrimpers say increased tariffs on imports would help the state’s struggling shrimp industry. But in other sectors, officials don’t share their enthusiasm.
“The first news of the tariffs, we were all excited,” first-generation shrimper Bryan Jones, a first-generation shrimper from McClellanville, told WCBD TV. “We certainly empathize with anybody that views this as a negative downturn…but [with] this suffering that our industry has had for the last 20 years, our view is that it will provide a lifeline.”
Despite a new 90-day pause in tariffs, the Southern Shrimping Alliance remains positive about the trade tool, according to executive director John Williams.
“It is encouraging that the Trump Administration’s tariffs have prompted countries to show a new willingness to address trade policies disadvantaging American producers,” Williams said in a statement. “We want to compete in a market where competitors cannot use intolerable practices like forced labor and banned antibiotics to undercut us.”
But in the Upstate of South Carolina, once a textile hub that declined but was saved by foreign investment, many say tariffs pose uncertainty that most people don’t understand, according to this story in The New York Times. Many officials also were surprised when a key aide of President Donald Trump attacked automakers like BMW, which produces vehicles for export in Spartanburg.
“There was widespread bewilderment in our community about that,” said Carlos Phillips, president and CEO of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.
In related news, recent polling trends since the tariff war show the majority of Americans think the economy is getting worse, according to CNN.
In weekend headlines:
CP WEEK IN REVIEW: S.C. budget writers trade earmarks for tax cuts. The S.C. Senate Finance Committee advanced a $14.4 billion budget plan this week that, in a surprise move, contained only one earmark — a $300 million expenditure to cut the state’s top income tax rate from 6.2% to 6%.
- Full 4/11 issue of Statehouse Report: Charter schools, tax cuts, change
- State officials looking at major charter school reforms
- Charleston Co. looking at charter school fund balances
CP OPINION, Brack: Change has always been on the menu. “America has changed dramatically over the last 100 years and change is accelerating. The future likely means more change at an even more rapid pace. We beat a Great Depression and the Nazis. We built the strongest economy and nation in the history of the world. And now we’re seeing lots of volatility again. Despite junk going on to dismantle government and shake up our markets, let’s keep betting on America.”
- Reale: How flowers help to shape social movements. “Flowers have long carried meaning across cultures. Egyptians revered the lotus as a symbol of purity and rebirth, while ancient Greeks crowned the heads of poets and warriors with laurel, representing humility and victory. We see these symbols carved into statues and even depicted in ancient art on sarcophagi.”
S.C. Supreme Court grants delay in Murdaugh appeal. The State Supreme Court has granted a 120-day request by state Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office for an appeal by convicted murder Alex Murdaugh.
McIlroy wins Masters, joins elite Grand Slam club. Golfer Rory McIlroy won the Masters Tournament Sunday after an exciting playoff, becoming the sixth golfer ever to capture the sport’s Grand Slam — wins at the Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship.
Charleston-bound jet clips wing on another jet at D.C. airport. Two American Airline jets on Thursday clipped wings on a taxiway at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington. The right winglet of a stationary New York-bound jet was clipped by a Charleston-bound jet, causing no injuries and limited damage, officials said.
S.C. executes second inmate by firing squad. The state executed death row inmate Mikal Mahdi on Friday, about a month after another inmate became the first executed by a firing squad in 15 years.
S.C. man pleads guilty to selling sperm whale teeth, bones. A South Carolina man on Thursday pleaded guilty to federal charges for importing and selling $18,000 of sperm whale parts imported from four countries, according to federal authorities.
Charleston’s union hall sells for $24.5 million. A Morrison Drive union hall long on the market has finally sold to a West Coast developer.
Former deputy’s crash trial to start Monday. The trial of a former Charleston County deputy charged in the 2022 crash that killed a woman and her two daughters is expected to begin today.
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