In 2025, Lombardo supported Trump’s tariffs, which doomed Nevadans to a trade war and rising prices. Tariffs are contributing to higher food prices and posing risks to Nevada’s retail and hospitality industries.
Despite this, Lombardo said Nevadan’s needed to “feel a little pain” to see long term benefits of Trump’s tariffs, even as the U.S. stock market crashed due to Trump’s escalating global trade war.
March 2025: Lombardo Said Nevadans Needed “To Maybe Feel A Little Pain In The Short Term” Under Trump’s Tariffs To “Hopefully” See Economic Benefits In The Long Term. According to Lombardo in an interview with 8 News Now, “HOST: What's your response to the tariffs? LOMBARDO: There's people well versed in that space better than me. What I would I be concerned with is if we continue to do the same old thing out of Washington, D.C. All right. So, at the end of Biden's economy and his ideas, you know, a lot of that was bolstered off of free money. You know, we talk about ARPA funds, infrastructure funds, and those those type of programs. You know, those come due after a certain period of time. So how are we going to do business different in the federal government? And Trump has he ran on it. He was very vocal about it and very transparent about it in how he was going to accomplish that. So the majority of the people voted for him. So I think we need to maybe feel a little pain in the short term and hopefully in the long term, it's a huge benefit for us.” [Joe Lombardo Interview – 8 News Now, 3/25/25] (VIDEO)
April 2-4, 2025: The U.S. Stock Market Crashed As Trump’s Tariffs “Escalated A Global Trade War And Wiped Out Trillions Of Dollars In Value.” According to NPR, “Wall Street plummeted for a second straight day on Friday, as President Trump's tariffs escalated a global trade war and wiped out trillions of dollars in value from the U.S. stock market. The two-day selloff served as the financial community's most brutal warning yet about the potential fallout of Trump's trade policy. Investors, businesses, and consumers are all expressing mounting terror about how these sweeping new taxes could upend the global economy.” [NPR, 4/4/25]
Axios Estimated Trump’s Tariffs Would Increase Nevada’s Cost Of Imported Goods By 153 Percent And Cause An Annual Economic Impact Of $985 Million. According to the Nevada Current, “Axios estimates an effective increase of 153% in Nevada for the cost of imported goods, compared with existing tariffs, and an annual economic impact to the state of $985 million, about .5% of the state’s gross domestic product.” [Nevada Current, 3/6/25]
A Moody’s Analytics Report On Trump’s Tariffs Prompted Nevada’s Economic Forum To Downgrade The State’s Estimated Two-Year Revenue Projections By $191 Million. According to KTNV Las Vegas, “A report prepared for Nevada's economic forum puts the blame for a drop in projected state revenue at the feet of President Donald Trump's tariff policy. The report, by Moody's Analytics, says the national economy will avoid a recession, but only if Trump changes course with most of the tariffs he's imposed since being sworn in on Jan. 20. […] That report, along with historic tax data and other material, led the Economic Forum on Thursday to downgrade the state's estimated two-year revenue projections by $191 million, or 1.6%, leaving Nevada's general-fund budget at $12.2 billion.” [KTNV Las Vegas, 5/2/25]
Nevada Restaurant Owners Were Concerned About Fewer Nevadans Dining Out Due To Increased Tariffs On Imports From Mexico, Which Made Up 63 Percent Of Vegetable Imports And 47 Percent Of Fruit And Nut Imports. According to the Nevada Current, “American diners are coming to terms with higher food prices, says Nevada Restaurant Association Government Affairs and Communications Manager Peter Saba, who suggests eateries can minimize the impact of tariffs by tweaking their menus, substitute ingredients if necessary, or maybe add a small surcharge rather than increase prices across the board. In 2023, Mexico supplied 63% of vegetable imports and 47% of fruit and nuts to the U.S. ‘In Nevada, we rely on a substantial portion of produce, seafood, and alcoholic beverages from Mexico and Canada. Those will be some of the first things that get hit,’ Saba says, adding that domestic sourcing is often not a realistic option. ‘Certain ingredients aren’t in season year round as it is, even in some of these other places we import from.’ A greater concern than increasing prices, he says, is the prospect that ‘people will just stay away. A lot more people are already not eating out because of inflation. With tariffs on top of that, I think we’re most worried they just won’t come.’” [Nevada Current, 3/6/25]
Tourists From Canada And Mexico Made Up 30 And 22 Percent Of International Visitation To Southern Nevada, Respectively, And The U.S. Travel Association Predicted That A 10 Percent Decrease In Canadian Tourism Could Cost Nevada’s Hospitality Industry $2.1 Billion In Spending And 14,000 In Job Losses. According to the Nevada Current, “Tourists from Canada and Mexico have topped international visitation to Southern Nevada every year since 2010, with 30% of tourists originating from Canada and 22% from Mexico in 2023. In 2023, visitation to Southern Nevada from the two countries reached 2.4 million – a rebound following a post-COVID slump, but far below the 2014 peak of 2.99 million. […] ‘International inbound travel improves the trade balance and is a critical economic contributor,’ Spencer Dobkin of the U.S. Travel Association, said via email. ‘While there is not a current estimate for changes, for example, if Canadian inbound visitation declined by even 10%, it’s possible we could see 2 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses.’” [Nevada Current, 3/6/25]