Most Americans probably gave up keeping up with the president’s tariffs on imported goods. It’s understandable, given the erratic way they have been imposed, rolled back or scaled down, and in some cases reimposed.
Still, if you sense that Trump tariffs have raised your cost of living, you’d be correct. In fact, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation reported Jan. 9 that the new tariffs amounted to an average tax increase per U.S. household of $1,100 in 2025.
That’s a hard bottom line to Donald Trump’s obsession with taxing imports. Despite his repeated claims that Americans won’t pay for them, eventually we do, and the Tax Foundation says Trump tariffs will cost each household another $1,500 this year.
Over the weekend, the impulsive president threatened a new round of tariffs on products from European nations that do not support his other obsession — taking Greenland from Denmark and making it part of the United States.
Consumers will have a tough time avoiding the impact of the tariffs. They affect, directly and indirectly, an enormous number of things we buy from China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union — cars, furniture, clothing and food items.
If you search around the Internet, you’ll find lots of free advice on how to soften the blow of the tariffs on your wallet. One common suggestion: Shop discount stores.
Discount stores like Ollie’s (“Good Stuff Cheap”) likely benefit from disruptions in the retail industry caused by tariffs — canceled orders, excess inventory, supply chain problems. “Tariffs are disruptive,” Eric Van Der Valk, the Ollie’s CEO, told investors last year. “We thrive on disruption.”
Which gets me to some news I wanted to share: Ocean State Job Lot is now in Maryland.
Next to Trinacria, the oldest Italian market in Baltimore, and Tochterman’s Fishing Tackle in Fells Point, Ocean State is my favorite place to shop. The presence of this New England-based chain in Maryland came to me as a beautiful surprise during a recent trip to the Eastern Shore.
My visits to Ocean State have been limited to times when I visited family in Massachusetts. But now Ocean State has Maryland stores in Chester and Easton. It has another in Hagerstown, one in Elkton and another on the way in Glen Burnie. A spokesperson for Ocean State says the Rhode Island-based company will look into opening additional stores in Maryland.
Ocean State moved into the state over the summer, taking retail spaces that had been occupied by the now-bankrupt Big Lots stores. In all, OSJL acquired 15 Big Lots locations in eight states, adding to the 159 stores it had already established in the Northeast. The company, founded in the 1970s, boasts annual sales of more than $850 million.
I like the “repurposing agenda” of OSJL; it repurposes empty retail space to create new locations — 12 former Toys R Us stores are now Job Lots — and it repurposes products that were either overproduced or overstocked elsewhere.
Nobody asked me, but Ocean State is like Ollie’s only better. Both chains buy overstocks or discontinued items in bulk and they sell them at discounts. But I give OCJL the edge in general quality, in the abundance of imported products and store organization and cleanliness.
The amount of products imported from Italy and other European nations — pasta, sauces, canned fish, kalamata olives and roasted peppers, olive oil — alone make the trip worthwhile. (The Belveder dill pickles from Poland are the best from a jar I’ve ever had.)
My tendency is to look for imported products not available in most grocery stores, and at prices that beat those in supermarkets for products of lesser quality. But friends and relatives have purchased clothing, kitchen utensils, pet supplies, office supplies, school supplies, grilling supplies, carpets and even Army surplus meals-ready-to-eat.
Of course, part of the fun of shopping at Ollie’s or Ocean State is the randomness and juxtaposition of items. Last week, I found the Ocean State store in Chester well lighted, well stocked and well organized. However, near the entrance, snow shovels and bags of kiln-dried New Hampshire kindling were on display just a few feet from a carousel of bras. I bought the kindling — made in America, no tariff.
Dan Rodricks’ column appears weekly in Baltimore Fishbowl. He can be reached at djrodricks@gmail.com or via danrodricks.com
Made in America is the deal.
Another great tip from DAN!! Wish they had one closer to BCounty or City