The global trade war continues as President Donald Trump imposes 25% tariffs on all imported cars. The policy is the latest example of the president’s tariff-centric economic agenda. The White House has already placed tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico, and the president said he’s planning a wave of reciprocal tariffs to begin on April 2. 

On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae sits down with Sarah Bohn, vice president and director of the Economic Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California. She discusses the impacts that tariffs will have on California businesses in the coming weeks and months. 

“A lot of manufacturing in California and the U.S. is used as a lot of goods that are imported from overseas in the production of the ultimate thing that we then consume or even export,” Bohn said. “And so those raw materials, the price of them, can be going up because of the trade wars that kind of are launched by new trade policies.”

Spectrum News’ Jamie Kennedy speaks to one CEO who is welcoming the new tariffs. Plus, Spectrum News’ Chace Beech talks about how cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will impact businesses in Southern California, from shipping to aviation and farming. Federal agencies, including the Department of Education and Department of Veterans Affairs, are planning massive layoffs, led by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. 

Rep. Mike Levin also joins this week’s “In Focus” to discuss concerns he has with federal cuts, including those to veterans who make up roughly 30% of the over 2 million civilians who work for the government. 

“All you have to do is look at the federal workforce and divide by three because roughly one out of every three federal employees is a veteran themselves,” Levin said. “So it’s bad for veterans’ health care, it’s bad for veterans’ services, and it’s bad for veteran employment because, as I said, tens of thousands of those people that are going to get fired are veterans.”

Send us your thoughts to InFocusSoCal@charter.com and watch at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. on Sundays.