Senator Kaine addresses tariff impact on Virginia businesses during Danville visit

The impact of President Trump's tariffs is being felt globally and locally, with Virginia businesses particularly affected. Senator Tim Kaine visited Danville to address these concerns and offer support to local businesses struggling with increased costs due to tariffs.

Randy Beauchamp, site manager of Polynt Composites, said, "What we've seen generally is probably 15-20 percent more in our cost." He noted that while tariffs do not significantly affect their finished products, they create uncertainty in purchasing decisions. Beauchamp's business in Chatham is particularly impacted by Canadian tariffs, as it relies on raw materials from Canada.

Senator Kaine highlighted the bipartisan effort to address these issues, stating, "I even got Republicans to vote with me to say that these Canada tariffs make no sense." He emphasized his commitment to challenging global tariffs, similar to his efforts against Canadian tariffs, and announced an upcoming Senate vote on the matter within the next couple of weeks.

In addition to tariffs, Senator Kaine discussed the delay in federal funding for Microporous, a company investing $1.3 billion in a new facility at the Berry Hill Mega Site.

The Trump administration's executive order in January paused funding for projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, affecting a $100 million grant for Microporous.

Kaine expressed optimism about the funding, saying, "I believe that the Trump administration may pause and say, wait a minute, this is a great investment, this is American manufacturing, this is American innovation. We wouldn't want to get in the way of that. So I'm very hopeful that that grant is going to go through."

Microporous officials previously indicated that the grant's delay would not impact the project's completion if received within 90 days.

However, the current status of the funding remains unclear. ABC13 reached out to Microporous to comment, but has not heard back.