Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul visited Meier’s Creek Brewing Co. in the Village of Cazenovia to emphasize her demand for federal tariff refunds. She is seeking a refund of $13.5 billion in tariff payments, which she says are owed to New Yorkers—amounting to about $1,751 per household.
During the visit, Dave Pollock, Chief Revenue Officer at Feldmeier Equipment (which owns Meier’s Creek), explained the effects of tariffs on his company: “I’m the Chief Revenue Officer of Feldmeier. Obviously, we own Meier’s Creek, but our main business is the manufacturing of those tanks and all that equipment, and what you probably don’t know is, in New York State, we’re the largest sanitary vessel manufacturer in the world.”
Pollock detailed how tariffs have impacted their operations: “The majority of the raw material we buy, though it does come from the US…10 percent we do buy from overseas, which were affected by tariffs, so obviously we have to pass that along to the customer. And our customers are major pharmaceuticals, food: Nestle, Amgen, Bristol Myers, Lilly, all of that…in the last 18 months we’ve spent $32 million on plants and equipment. Half of that $32 million…was machinery to go make that product out there. Unfortunately, the majority of that comes from overseas…So we’re paying tariffs on that.”
Governor Hochul asked about these impacts: “My concern for businesses while traveling around the state is that when you are doing your planning and your decisions on how to expand and whether you’re going to add more staff, one uncertainty now…has been tariffs. So tell me what this has done to a company like yours where some of your plants – you get materials from overseas…have you seen an additional cost for doing business?”
Pollock responded with concerns about competition and pricing: “We get paid to worry in business. That’s what we do…I worry about if tariffs continue; will a company from China…come here and open up shop?…what if they’re subsidized by the government of China? That would be unfair competition.” He added that higher costs must be passed onto customers.
Hochul referenced a Supreme Court decision declaring certain tariffs illegal because they were not approved by Congress. She said many families have already experienced increased costs due to these tariffs—about “$1,700 more per family”—and noted ongoing efforts for reimbursement: “We’re filing a claim for the money I want back to New York, but individual businesses are now pursuing claims to get the money back from the federal government…”
Pollock indicated support for reclaiming funds: “If there’s money coming back, we can certainly use it. We’re spending money to expand and the more money we have to spend, we’re going to invest it here in New York State.”
Governor Hochul concluded by reiterating her position against what she called “Trump tariff taxes,” stating: “…these Trump tariff taxes have been nothing but an illegal scheme, and the money is owed to New Yorkers…”
The Governor has held similar discussions with other business owners across New York State as part of her ongoing campaign for tariff refunds.