‘I Voted for Trump’: Now My Family Lumber Mill in North Carolina Is Closed, 50 Jobs Lost to Tariffs

Wilson Jones walks through the quiet remains of what once was the beating heart of his family’s lumber empire — the Mackeys Ferry Sawmill in North Carolina.

Instead of the steady roar of saws slicing through Southern pine, the space is now filled with an eerie silence.

“I’ve spent my entire life in the lumber business,” the 60-something mill owner tells Bloomberg, his voice thick with emotion. “To hear nature in a sawmill instead of machines… for any lumberman, that’s unnatural. I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but it’s as unsettling as watching a loved one take their final breath.”

Jones represents the fifth generation of his family to run a lumber operation — and he is the first to shutter a mill. The reason behind it? President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, unveiled on April 2, 2025, which were supposed to bring manufacturing jobs roaring back to America.

“When people talk about Liberation Day, I can’t hide my sarcasm,” Jones says. “We weren’t liberated. At the time, it almost felt like those tariffs were designed to liberate me from our business entirely.”

Tariffs Push Manufacturing Toward Crisis

The struggles of the Jones family are far from isolated. Across factories, mills, and plants throughout the country, similar stories are unfolding. Since President Trump’s April tariff announcement, manufacturing employment has dropped by 42,000, while job openings and hires have fallen by 76,000 and 18,000, respectively, according to the Center for American Progress. In May, manufacturing hiring hit its weakest level since 2016, under President Obama.

Recent months have shown little improvement. Since the beginning of 2025, the manufacturing sector has lost 78,000 jobs, including 3,000 in October alone, according to an ADP report. Although job openings increased to 462,000 in July — up from 393,000 in June — actual hiring declined by 5% year-over-year, according to iCIMS data.

Employers are taking longer to fill positions, with average time-to-fill rising from 40 to 42 days. This indicates that companies are moving cautiously in an uncertain market, weighing every hiring decision more carefully than before.

Wilson Jones sees these trends reflected in communities nationwide. “If you put all these little communities together from Maine over to Michigan, down to Mississippi and Alabama, it’s having the same effect on these small towns,” he says.

The human toll is mounting. When Mackeys Ferry closed, 50 workers were laid off, but only 10 accepted jobs at the Jones brothers’ other mill an hour away. The remainder are seeking new careers, building new lives, or simply figuring out what comes next.

“From the guy stacking lumber to the guy operating the saw — forget the mill owner for a second — what about those workers?” Wilson asks.

Tariffs Fall Short of Promises

Promises of a manufacturing revival under tariffs are proving elusive. On “Liberation Day,” President Trump proclaimed: “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country, and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.” But the data paints a far different picture.

The financial cost of tariff protection is staggering. According to the American Enterprise Institute, each manufacturing job created through tariffs costs at least $225,000 per year, with more realistic estimates reaching $550,000 annually per job-year — and these costs are expected to continue indefinitely.

The core issue lies in how tariffs affect broader supply chains. Imported materials become more expensive, driving up production costs for domestic manufacturers. For every job in steel production, roughly 80 other jobs in U.S. industries that rely on steel are impacted. As steel prices climbed — with some domestic producers increasing prices by 38.5% — those 80 downstream positions face financial strain or even elimination.

For Wilson Jones, the impact is deeply personal. “President Trump, gee, I understand what you’re trying to do, but you’re on a fool’s mission. And you’re not helping a few — you’re hurting a lot,” he says, reflecting on the shuttered mill and the workers whose livelihoods have been upended.

Industries Feeling the Full Brunt of Tariffs

Trade policies are hitting multiple sectors hard, leaving once-thriving industries scrambling to adapt.

The U.S. lumber sector is reeling from tariffs on Canadian softwood, which have climbed to 45%. With roughly 30% of its supply coming from Canada, the Mackeys Ferry mill suddenly faced tariffs on a typical $500,000 shipment to China that exceeded the value of the wood itself, severely cutting profits.

The furniture industry hasn’t been spared. President Trump imposed a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities. Between August 2024 and August 2025, prices for living room, kitchen, and dining room furniture rose 9.5%, squeezing both businesses and consumers.

Alex Shuford, CEO of Rock House Designer Brands in North Carolina, told Marketplace, “We’re exactly the type of company this is intended to benefit. But over time, the effect has been more negative than positive.”

Tariffs meant to protect U.S. steel and aluminum industries have also resulted in job losses. Around 1,400 U.S. and Canadian steel and aluminum workers were laid off due to these policies. Aluminum giant Alcoa’s CEO warned that a 25% aluminum tariff could threaten up to 100,000 American jobs, illustrating how protective measures can backfire when costs ripple through the economy.

Rural Communities Bear the Brunt of Tariff Chaos

Rural America is feeling the fallout of disrupted supply chains and policy uncertainty. The Joint Economic Committee warns that ongoing tariff unpredictability could slash U.S. manufacturing investments by over 13% annually — totaling more than $490 billion by 2029.

In Washington County, North Carolina, the closure of Mackeys Ferry has left a lasting mark. Economic Development Director Kelly Chesson describes it as “a big blow.” He recalls, “Fifty men and women are going to lose their jobs. That is a real hit,” noting that the county still hasn’t recovered from the loss of 200 jobs when a paper mill closed two decades ago. “We’re still feeling the effects of that.”

Business planning has become nearly impossible under such uncertainty. Companies that rely on long-term horizons to invest in new facilities face constantly shifting tariff policies — sometimes changing daily, or even hourly. For rural communities with limited economic diversity, each factory closure can reverberate for generations, deepening economic vulnerability.

Economists Warn of the Hidden Costs

Economists are warning about the hidden costs of tariff uncertainty. Betsey Stevenson, professor of economics at the University of Michigan and former chief economist at the Department of Labor, puts it bluntly: “It’s a policy choice to sow this much uncertainty. And that uncertainty has a cost.”

The financial fallout has been severe. Al Jazeera reports that President Trump’s April 2025 tariff announcements caused the worst two-day loss in U.S. stock market history, erasing roughly $6.6 trillion in value in just 48 hours. In the week that followed, global equity markets shed about $10 trillion — roughly 10% of global GDP. While markets have since rebounded to record highs, experts caution that this recovery may be driven more by AI-related speculation than by actual strength in manufacturing.

Businesses are adjusting in response to the ongoing uncertainty. A May 2025 survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond found that 88% of manufacturers in the Fifth District reported making changes to their operations because of tariffs. Similarly, the Dallas Fed’s August 2025 survey revealed that over 70% of Texas manufacturing firms experienced negative impacts from these policies.

Loyalty Despite Losses

Wilson Jones voted for Trump — all three times.

“I voted for Trump all three times. Yep. I did,” he admits. “But I literally was in the voting booth. And I rapped my knuckles and the Trump one hurt more, and that was the one that I voted for. Because it was just, it was so disgusting and, and I hate to say that, but that’s literally how I made that choice.”

Even after losing his business to Trump’s policies, he stands by his vote: “Given the two people running, regardless of what they said on the campaign trail, I would’ve voted for President Trump again.”

His brother Stephen agrees: “I don’t think I had a choice to vote any other direction.”

Rising Costs and an Uncertain Future

Household budgets are taking a hit as tariffs push costs higher. The Tax Foundation estimates that U.S. families will face an average tax increase of $1,200 in 2025 and $1,600 in 2026. The impact is visible everywhere: furniture, building materials, cars — nearly every product made with steel, aluminum, or imported components is feeling the squeeze.

Grocery bills have surged under these trade policies. In August 2025, food prices jumped 0.6% month-over-month — the largest increase in three years. Coffee prices soared 20.9% year-over-year, beef steaks rose 16.6%, and imported fruits like bananas and apples became noticeably more expensive as tariffs hit hard.

Political pressure prompted an abrupt policy reversal. On November 14, 2025, President Trump announced the removal of multiple tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits, cocoa, tea, and other commodities — a major shift after months of insisting that tariffs don’t raise consumer prices. Despite the relief in groceries, housing costs are likely to keep rising as elevated lumber prices feed into construction projects.

For consumers and rural manufacturers alike, hope rests on further tariff adjustments.

Meanwhile, Wilson Jones keeps the Mackeys Ferry equipment in standby, hoping someone might purchase the mill. The last board came off the production line on September 29, 2025. “There’ll be some lumber we can sell here and there, but… we’re trying to get the biggest chunks out of it right now,” he says.

His mindset has shifted to resilience. “Quit feeling sorry for yourself. Yep. Pull your head outta your rear and try to, you know, make a difference where you can make a difference,” Jones says.

But for the 50 families who lost their livelihoods, the rural communities watching their economic anchors disappear, and American consumers facing higher prices on everything from kitchen cabinets to cars, one question lingers: Is this the “liberation” America was promised?

The silent sawmill in North Carolina offers a stark answer: not yet.

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